Legally wearing a seatbelt

[sean43]

Is Ron Paul against people legally having to wear a seatbelt? I was thinking about it the other day. Its your responsibility but what if you crash and go flying through the windscreen and cause harm because of it?

 

[amy31416]

Is Ron Paul against people legally having to wear a seatbelt? I was thinking about it the other day. Its your responsibility but what if you crash and go flying through the windscreen and cause harm because of it?

I really don't know, and none of his writings have addressed such minutiae as far as I know.

I doubt he is for a law on seatbelts though, given that he's for personal responsibility and freedom to make your own choices, even if they're stupid. I suspect that he'd leave it to the states and the legal system--if your actions cause another person harm, the harmed party sues you.

 

[crazyfingers]

If you crash and go flying through your windshield, who are you likely to hurt (beside yourself of course)? The main argument I've seen for seat belt laws comes from people who also support government-sponsered "universal" health care. It's disturbing to me how statists try and tie one bad law in with another as an excuse to take away our freedoms.

 

[Richie]

This is a state issue.

Personally, this is an issue that I don't care about. I'm wearing my seat belt whether the government tells me to or not.

 

[phixion]

You don't want to be involved in a head-on crash if the passengers in the back seat aren't wearing their seat-belts - think of the crushing force hurtling toward you in the drivers seat in front. You're talking the weight of one man - possibly 200lbs - coming at you @ 30mph+.

Can you say ... ouch?

Pete

 

[familydog]

You don't want to be involved in a head-on crash if the passengers in the back seat aren't wearing their seat-belts - think of the crushing force hurtling toward you in the drivers seat in front. You're talking the weight of one man - possibly 200lbs - coming at you @ 30mph+.

Can you say ... ouch?

Pete

Bah! That's all lies being told by Big Seat-belt, in collusion with Big Oil so that we give up our liberties in the name of the nanny state!

 

[tamor]

Personally, I think this is an individual responsibility and should not be law.

 

[CountryboyRonPaul]

I'm 99.9% Sure that Ron Paul would not support a nationwide Seatbelt Law.

....Is there even a Nationwide Seatbelt Law, or is it just that every state has adopted one already?

 

[ErikBlack]

You don't want to be involved in a head-on crash if the passengers in the back seat aren't wearing their seat-belts - think of the crushing force hurtling toward you in the drivers seat in front. You're talking the weight of one man - possibly 200lbs - coming at you @ 30mph+.

Can you say ... ouch?

Pete

If you, the driver, fear that the passengers in your car may pose a threat to you, or themselves, by not wearing a seatbelt then it is your right to instruct them to wear a seatbelt while riding in your car. If you, as a passenger in someone else's car, feel that you would be safer wearing a seatbelt it is your right to buckle up. If you feel that someone else in the car poses a threat to you by not wearing their seatbelt then it is your right to ask them to wear a seatbelt and if they refuse you have the right to decide whether or not you will take the risk of riding with them or find another mode of transportation. There is no need for the government here.

Besides, the seatbelt law is not about saving lives or preventing injury. It is about making money for the local government through tickets. If you have ever taken public transportation you will notice that no-one buckles up and many times seat belts are not even available. You can even stand up in a city bus while it is in motion with nothing more than a steel bar to hold onto to prevent yourself from going flying through the air should the bus be in a collision. Even school children are not required to buckle up in school buses, last time I checked.

 

[CountryboyRonPaul]

You don't want to be involved in a head-on crash if the passengers in the back seat aren't wearing their seat-belts - think of the crushing force hurtling toward you in the drivers seat in front. You're talking the weight of one man - possibly 200lbs - coming at you @ 30mph+.

Can you say ... ouch?

Pete

The world is a dangerous place, Government should only be involved in a select handful of situations. This is definately not one of them.

Statistically More people are killed in cars by deer than humans that fly out of windshields.

I somehow doubt you would advocate exterminating the dangerous deer from our country in the name of safety.

 

[revolutionman]

i would think Dr. Paul would be about allowing the states to deside on something like that individually. But i have no clue what his personal opinion would be. Thats a good one.

 

[PennCustom4RP]

Should seatbelt use be mandated by law? I would say no. As others have said, and I believe this totally, The Govt. does not care about your safety, these laws are just 'revenue generators'.
Having said this, should one voluntarily wear the seatbelt. To this I would say yes.
I never wore a seat belt, ever, and drove cars that had no forgiveness when you wrecked them, unlike the vehicles of today. I went through a windshield out onto the ground, took the steering wheel off with my chin...and then got up.
Yet I did not wear them...still.
It was not until my last child was born did I begin to wear the seatbelt, to set a good example to him(and was in custody case).

Again...having said this...I was involved in a head on wreck (12/04), pushed into oncoming traffic after being rear ended. I, as well as my son had our seat belts on, otherwise this would have been a 2 fatality wreck...the dashboard was pushed back so far that my sons cheek came to rest on it...I was entangled in the front end of the van...


Without a seatbelt, we would have been killed, without doubt. Fortunately my son only broke his nose.
I compound fractured both femurs, shattered my knees, broke 3 ribs, my left arm, and tore my foot off.
I carry a lot of Titanium, but am still alive.

And don't be fooled by unrestrained things behind you in the vehicle, people, cargo, junk, it will come forward, this is simple physics.

 

[AutoDas]

Holy crap! This is why I don't like Ron Paul, but he's the closest to being a libertarian. He thinks all of these mob rules should be left up to the state. This is complete bullshit. It's crazy how you people think a government is supposed to be run by one government and then a bigger one (federalism). And even you people here don't know whether or not these issues should be picked up by the state!

Seatbelt laws make reckless drivers. People who drive without a seatbelt are more cautious. It's because they realize the implications of getting into a crash.

People would wear a seatbelt because insurance would require them to if they ever got into an accident. Seatbelt laws make it so the state can get more money and to keep the cost of their healthcare down. You'll be forbidden to do things that might endanger yourself in a nanny state that has to baby proof the world for idiots.

 

[crazyfingers]

Holy crap! This is why I don't like Ron Paul, but he's the closest to being a libertarian. He thinks all of these mob rules should be left up to the state. This is complete bullshit. It's crazy how you people think a government is supposed to be run by one government and then a bigger one (federalism). And even you people here don't know whether or not these issues should be picked up by the state!

10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Sorry, but that's how it works. I don't like seat belt laws either. It's just another excuse to pull people over. It goes both ways, though. For instance, I know New Hampshire doesn't have a seat built law.

 

[familydog]

Seatbelt laws make reckless drivers. People who drive without a seatbelt are more cautious. It's because they realize the implications of getting into a crash.

Can you provide a credible study backing this up?

 

[CountryboyRonPaul]

Can you provide a credible study backing this up?

Not sure about seatbelts, but I know speed limits make me fall asleep.

 

[angelatc]

I have an aquaintance that gave Ron Paul a ride to a speech once several years ago. This person reportedly told Congressman Paul that seat belts were required in that state. Paul said he did not wear seat belts because he felt the law was an infringement on his rights, and that he would rather pay the fine.

However, pictures have surfaced of Ron Paul wearing a seat belt in a limousine. So either Paul changed his mind, the limousine operator didn't want his insurance to go up, or Carol got wind of the folly.

 

[CountryboyRonPaul]

I have an aquaintance that gave Ron Paul a ride to a speech once several years ago. This person reportedly told Congressman Paul that seat belts were required in that state. Paul said he did not wear seat belts because he felt the law was an infringement on his rights, and that he would rather pay the fine.

However, pictures have surfaced of Ron Paul wearing a seat belt in a limousine. So either Paul changed his mind, the limousine operator didn't want his insurance to go up, or Carol got wind of the folly.

hahaha awesome

 

[AutoDas]

Wow. You people are no different than the socialists, only that they're doing it on a bigger scale.

Can you provide a credible study backing this up?

And seat belt laws come with their own set of unintended consequences, which further complicates the principle that policy should protect the peaceful people from the dangerous. Seat belt laws may make drivers and children safer, but economists such as Christopher Garbacz suggest that greater safety can make drivers more comfortable with dangerous driving, which puts the lives of more innocents—like pedestrians, cyclists and other passengers—in jeopardy.
http://www.reason.com/news/show/32805.html​

 

[GunnyFreedom]

This is a state issue.

Personally, this is an issue that I don't care about. I'm wearing my seat belt whether the government tells me to or not.

Although I'm like you, I'm kind of a hard headed reactionary. Before there was a law requiring mandatory seat belt use, I wore mine 100% of the time, NO EXCEPTIONS. Now that there is a law requiring it, I probably wear it 65% of the time. I guarantee you if they repeal the seatbelt law I'll go back to 100%....

silly me. :shrug: