Should You Have to Wear a Seatbelt?

I recently read the article titled Mandatory Seat Belt Laws, When Will We Stop Legislating Personal Choice? . I too am surprised more people have not responded. The author of the article felt their personal liberty by having to wear their seat belt. Well do they think that being told not to murder someone crosses the line? Or how about not to steal or don't do illegal drugs? Wearing a seat belt in a vehicle might bother you but they are there for a reason. They are made to protect you in case you should be in an accident. Were you aware that one in five people will be involved in a car accident this year and that around 35,000 people die in car accidents each year. Half of those people would of lived had they worn their seat belt.

The author brought up the point that she would hope that if she were to be involved in a car accident where the car was driven by someone else, that her family would not consider suing the driver because she didn't wear her seatbelt. In a perfect world this might be the case but now days people don't think about who was right or wrong they will just be thinking about the cost of the medical bills and will be looking for someone to pay them. People could argue over their personal liberties being violated for every law we have. If we didn't have these laws in place think how much worse our world would be. There has to be laws, yes we should be able to think for ourselves and make our own judgment, but apparently that hasn't worked. Think what would happen if there were no laws regulating drinking and driving, or there were no traffic laws. Maybe someone might say they are having their personal liberties violated because they have to sit at a red light and they just don't want to .I don't consider wearing a seat belt that might protect me and my family a nuisance. I would not want to be killed in an accident and then they tell my children I could of survived had I worn a seatbelt. There have been studies done that more children are killed by adults in a car not wearing their seat belts smashing into them. What if your child said no they aren't going to sit in a car seat? Would you allow this? If you go by your opinion that it violates their personal liberty then they should be allowed to make their own choice? Out of every 100 children that are killed in a car accident that at least 80 of them would of survived had they been in a car seat with a seat belt.

As far as the smoking issues go I am not a smoker and if I am out for a night of fun at a bar or restaurant I don't want to inhale smoke .If I did I would be a smoker myself. People that try to lead a healthy life shouldn't have to be exposed to cigarette smoke if they don't want to be. I also disagree with the comment that people don't feel the need to think for themselves anymore. If this were the case then no one would break any laws because they were told not to. I obey the law and I still think for myself about every decision I make. The government has to play nanny to the world because they have a reason to do that. Apparently people don't have enough sense to act in a proper manner and need to be reminded that there are consequences for not following the rules. If the government just came out and said you could choose if you wore the seatbelt or not a lot of people would stop wearing it and there would be a huge increase in traffic related deaths. At one time I am sure they tried to allow people to decide if they wanted to wear the seat belt and to many choose not to. Once they found out how much a seat belt can save a person they came to the conclusion that there was a need for the law to make people wear them. This issue will be argued for many years to come. Anytime you tell a person they have to do something someone will not like it. There has to be laws to keep some sort of order in our lives. If it is your choice not to wear a seat belt then it's the auto insurance companies choice not to pay to fix your car, or for your medical bills. Maybe it's the choice of the life insurance company to not pay your family when you are killed in a car accident.