A friend of the wife and I had gone on a trip with his wife and another couple and they were driving back home in their SUV. The husbands were in the front seats, belted in. The wives were in the back seats talking away, but NOT belted in. They were in the right hand lane on an interstate in northern Indiana. A vehicle in the center lane suddenly cut over into their lane catching the rear quarter panel on the driver's side, basically performing a PIT maneuver on their vehicle, violently slewing the vehicle sideways and causing it to rolling multiple times down the interstate before coming to a stop. Being belted in, and due to the airbags in the SUV, the husbands in the front were fine, only suffered minor cuts and bruises. Unbelted, the wives in the rear were both ejected during the first roll or two and the SUV rolled over them and crushed them. ONE died on the scene and the other died in route to the hospital.
Due to my Military Career and my Law Enforcement background, I have never allowed anyone in my vehicles to ride without wearing a seatbelt. The kids have known the rules since they were old enough to ride outside a car seat. I never put the car in gear until they were all buckled. Even to this day, Miss T and I always wear our seatbelts. (It never hurt that we rode on the rescue squads as EMTs for four years either...) We saw the difference between belted and unbelted vehicle accidents.
There are those who won't wear seatbelts. Everyone has a reason.
My mother would never wear her seatbelt when I was a kid, and her argument was that if the car went into the water she might not get loose in time to get out of the car. I learned when I grew up that wearing the belt means you might be conscious after hitting the water and able to survive the impact and free yourself. Panic is your enemy, not a seat belt.
The wife of a friend never wears her seatbelt because it messes up the look of her clothing, puts creases in her dress or her high end suits.
There is no talking to her about safety... she says her vehicle has NINE airbags.
Don't wear it because you might get a ticket, or because I suggest it. Wear it because it might save your life. Someone will miss you if you are gone.
Just think about it.
