Question What do you do when...

[Joyofbirth]

I usually say something like I'm so paranoid or such a worrywart that I'd feel so much better if you'd put it on. If they still refused, I'd get out. Even if I'm not in a convenient place. Usually saying you want out of the car makes people buckle up. They may feel like you're being a big baby but they feel like a jerk pushing you that far. Most of the time, I've found that teenagers will comply if an adult asked for something simple.

 

[hedgefun]

Quite dangerous. Shanna posted this video a while back and it is an AMAZING visual of a crash with a single unbelted passenger. Be aware that it's a bit much, though, it doesn't pull any punches. I showed it in a class I taught a couple of weeks ago (with forewarning that it was "a bit much") and the nonspoken "holy crap" out of the students told the whole tale. They were all astonished and (like I previously had) thought of someone not buckling up of endangering *themselves,* not anyone around them.

Do we know how fast those cars in the video would be going, approximately? I showed this to a family member who insisted they didn't need to wear their seatbelt in the neighborhood. The speed limit on the road we were going to be on is 35, but of course people go faster. They said, "Those cars look like they're going fast, we're only in the neighborhood." I said, "You never know when someone speeding is going to come out of nowhere and hit you." They got the point, but I'd like to be able to make a point of saying that the cars were actually really not going that fast, if that's the case. I'm so bad a judging the speed of cars when I'm not actually driving/being passed by someone!

 

[Brigala]

We have lost friends over not allowing them to ride unrestrained in our car.

I did reluctantly give a ride to a woman who refused to use the shoulder belt once (she claimed it made her "claustrophobic" and acted like she would DIE with it on) because it was extenuating circumstances, but I made it very clear that she would not ride in my car again, and at least she had the lap belt to keep her more or less in her seat.

Do we know how fast those cars in the video would be going, approximately? I showed this to a family member who insisted they didn't need to wear their seatbelt in the neighborhood. The speed limit on the road we were going to be on is 35, but of course people go faster.

I would approach them with basic math. force = (speed x weight) ÷ ride-down. So if they weigh 150 lbs and they hit a telephone poll at 35 mph, that is 5250 lbs of force (over 2.5 TONS) divided by whatever ride-down the crumple zone buys you. Double that if you hit another car going 35 mph in the other direction (in fact, that would probably be considered an "unsurvivable" accident if neither car was braking/slowing at the point of impact). Even if the car takes 75% of the force in the telephone pole scenario, you're left hitting the steering wheel with around 1000 lbs of force if you don't have your seat belt on. The seat belt stretches and provides extra ride-down, further dividing how much actual force you get. Hitting a telephone pole at 35 mph, even with a seat belt, is a very very serious accident that's likely to produce significant injuries and it would be a miracle to survive it at all without a seat belt.

People think 35 mph is "slow" but that's because those people haven't been in a 35 mph crash.

 

[safeinthecar]

I asked my coworker once and he said that he believes God will decide when it is his time to go. Neither he or his children wear seatbelts. He is a retired police officer too. That argument makes no sense to me.

Guy said that to my mom once and she asked him how much he saves on food, since it's all up to God and all whether he would die of starvation...

 

[Judi]

I deal with this every time I ride in a fire truck.

 

[Brianna]

I deal with this every time I ride in a fire truck.

Aren't fire trucks less likely to be in a crash though- due to size, color and lights? At least you have that on you side.

Sent from my DROID4 using Car-Seat.Org

 

[Judi]

Yes, but we had a death in the next dept over, on a training. Truck went into the soft shoulder. Guy didn't buckle, and died. You think that would have taught them.

 

[agave]

When my brother was a volunteer, they had a new shiny yellow truck get hit.

 

[2angels2love]

As far as the force thing, and people thinking that 35 mph is slow/they wouldn't get hurt without a seat belt etc, my dad always said this: "just take off running as fast as you possibly can into a tree and see if you get hurt." I think a lot of people just don't realize the kind of forces involved. To me it's just common sense to wear one as an adult, but I know even I don't really understand the dynamics of it all. It was really brought home to me the other day just how little of a bump can created a lot of force, when my kids were outside riding their bikes and they barely clipped each other going in opposite directions. One of them was thrown off their bike, in just a split second! It was pretty violent for a tiny bike crash, and really shocked me. Thankfully nobody was hurt and it was a good moment to do some teaching!