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Comment by timbre1234 | Hacker News Reader

I'm so sick of people equating seat belt laws w/ Vaccine&Mask mandates. For the 1000th time: Seat Belts affect you, Masks&Vaccines are about other people.

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Seat Belts affect you

If you're a passenger in the back of a car, and the car stops suddenly in an accident, you will be launched into the seat in front of you. Drivers have died as the result of a rear passenger crushing them. Even seat belts can affect others.

Crash test footage of an unbelted rear passenger - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3InF19dzlM

British safety 'advert' about it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2aevh6oZ8 (Maybe not for the squeamish..)

This is why people really should wear seat belts in taxis and Ubers.

Arguably this should be worked out between the driver and passenger before the ride begins.

And for those who are unaware of the consequences? Do they just deserve to die?

We’re all on this road trip together.

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"Are you happy risking death because I don't want to wear a seat belt?" doesn't seem like it needs much "working out".

Which would cause a ruckus in most of the cases. Not exactly what I as a driver, or I as a passenger, want when I think of a ride.

I strongly disagree. If I made a mistake while driving a car that results in a crash, without a seat belt I could be responsible for the death of one or more individuals which could have been prevented if they were wearing a seat belt

This is what few people take into account. I know someone who was involved in a fatality accident and the family of the deceased sued them even though the deceased person was clearly at fault. That isn’t even the biggest problem though since insurance took care of it, the person who survived the crash had a lot of trauma from feeling that they “killed” somebody.

Just wear a seatbelt and put on that helmet.

I find this logic strange. As someone who's friend was killed in an accident where he was not wearing a seatbelt, this kind of logic makes the person who ran a stop sign at 45 miles an hour the "victim," and not the person who they killed.

That doesn't mean it's wrong, just that I find it wholly uncompelling. And I don't exactly oppose seat belt laws either, I just find this justification, uh, perverted maybe? Bizarre? Utterly unconvincing.

Survivors guilt is a real thing, and it destroys people. There’s nothing logical about survivors guilt, but that doesn’t change the very real damage it does.

Why would you want to subject your friends and loves one to that type of phycological suffering?

Not true, seat belts keep the driver in their seat and can allow the driver to maintain control when they wouldn't have been able to without one, potentially reducing the severity of a crash with another vehicle. Admittedly this is not the most common benefit of a seat belt but they are designed with this benefit in mind.

Getting injured in traffic poses a risk to the people that come and save you. People getting flung from cars also pose a risk to other road users.

If you don't wear a seat belt / helmet, you increase the liability risks of other drivers who may cause injury to you.

The government mandates liability insurance and also mandates safety features that reduce risk for liability insurance providers.

There are reasonable debates be to had if the lines are drawn in the correct places (if motocyclists have to wear helmets, why not other drivers?).

an unbelted traveler transforms into a meat torpedo during impact, which puts all other passengers in the vehicle at risk.

so maybe you can make the case of not getting into vehicles with unbelted persons, however, children among others, often dont have the choice.

EMT's who have to come to the scene: Not you Doctors in the ER who have to treat you: Not you. People injured as a result of your body flying around: Not you

Seatbelts save lives and lower the costs for everyone by not required additional resources be spent on treating people unwilling to wear a seatbelt. Just like vaccines.

Take the case of motorcycle helmets. Not wearing a helmet increases the risk of traumatic brain injury in a crash. And, people living with TBI get a lot of care at the expense of federal and state taxpayers.

Would a "libertarian" approach to motorcycle helmet requirements deny social security disability income or medicaid to persons injured in a motorcycle crash without a helmet?

Similar questions apply to car-crash injuries without seat belts, and to serious disease in people who refuse vaccines.

At any rate, I do a lot of road bicycling in New Hampshire, always wearing a helmet. Some motorcyclists, legally, don't wear helmets. Enough of those same motorcyclists disrespect other users of the road that it's wise to pull over until they pass.

We don't all live in places with less than 100 people per square mile.

Other people had plenty of time to get vaccine. Mandated masks and vaccines is stupid. Everyone should decide for himself. There are few people who can't get vaccine because of medical reasons, but they should not be the reason to strain rest of the society with stupid restrictions.

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