If it wasn’t the law would you wear a seat belt

[despairofbadscience]

Now I think the obvious answer to this is yes! However someone asked it a a party last night, and quite a few people so no or not on short journeys, maybe only in the front seat (type answers).

Really surprised me

Absolutely yes. I have on a very rare occasion on private land moved the car a few meters without putting my seatbelt on but even that felt very odd.

Of course!

Nope. I'm always the driver and on 20mph roads I probably wouldn't every time.

Yes to seat belt. Don't find it uncomfortable or inconvenient or hard to remember. Don't even notice it when it's on.

I mostly don't wear a life jacket when I do some water sport which is definitely a minority decision. The PFD is inconvenient, interfers with the activity, is uncomfortable. Most the PFDs I see ppl wearing are badly fitting & I suspect fairly pointless. They prevent swimming rather than help a person swim. I hate wearing one.

Yes, because I'm not a complete idiot.

I'm late 50s so remember when cars only had seat belts in the front and even then it wasn't compulsory. As kids, we'd always be kneeling up and turning around to look at the cars behind if we were on a long journey.

But that also means I'm old enough to remember the ads informing the public how dangerous it was to get into a car and not use seatbelts. I always wear them now, even on the shortest journey, and that's got nothing to do with it being a legal requirement.

"Julie knew her killer" is the advert that has always stuck in my mind.

I don't even reverse off drive into quiet cul de sac without my seat belt

Yep. You either plug it in behind you or get a buckle part from the scrappy to plug in.

Or you could just wear your seatbelt which is less hassle and more likely to save your life.

Honestly I often forget to wear a seatbelt. My husband goes mad at me whenever he realises. I’m extremely lax on driving safety in many areas tbh (I’m a non-driver so not endangering others).

Why wouldn't you? Even if you are ok with being ejected through the winndscreen, your body becomes a loose projectile within the car, so you can potentially injure or kill the other occupants.

Even on a short journey, you have no control over other road users. You may be going at a low speed on a 30 mph local road, but it doesn't guarantee that whoever hits you isn't speeding.

Wtf! Why would you bother! That is bonkers

Yes as I'd be dead without them. Can't plan for an idiot driving head on into you (who wasn't so lucky as she didn't have hers on). Also car seats, in the back for kids n matter what.

You are endangering others though, being unsecured in a car makes your body a projectile.

I mean, yeah. I guess. But people do things every day that endanger others. I don’t think this is a massive deal.

I guess those that answered ‘no’ are part of Darwinism.

The other day I was moving the car about 3 foot on our drive and I put it on because it just felt wrong (and so distracting me) to not have it on.

Hopefully you can go on thinking like that for the rest of your life rather than a) having to live with the guilt that your unsecured body killed someone else or b) bring dead.

Yes

I also wear a bike helmet and I don't have to. Why wouldn't I want to be sad

Safe

Yes. I’ve seen the aftermath of someone going through a windscreen, horrific.

Yes, I’d like to reduce the chance of death/serious injury, and reduce the chances of my body injuring someone else in the car.

Compared to what can happen, death is an easier way out.

The amount of horrific driving I've seen lately (I'm on mat leave and walking A LOT) is bloody scary. Every third driver is on their phone (in their lap), every fifth is speeding.

Yes I would and I don't understand why the younger generation don't because they were born years after it was made law around 1983. You hear of fatal accidents and it comes out that nearly all the casualties were not wearing seatbelts.