Driving without seatbelt

People who say they don't wear them on roads they know and drive slowly and safely thinking they are safe - they are not. If somone shunts you head on, even if you're doing 30, and they are doing 30, the impact speed is equivalent to 60mph - you will be thrown from your seat, you will smash your face against the steering wheel or whatever other object you hit.

It doesn't matter if you know the roads or are safe. You can never predict what other people might do, or if your car might suddenly break down, develop a fault or blow a tyre., Why take that chance?

I have a friend who works in A&E - and some of the stuff he's seen and told me about is more than enough of reminder to be safe.

I feel vulnerable without it on. Funnily enough I feel less vulnerable on my bike than I do in my car without it on!
 
=GAMMO= said:
If Belts are fitted then you have to wear them simple as ;) unless deliveries are 50m or less apart.
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incorrect.
the law states you're exempt if you're doing local deliveries, however there is no legal definition of what exactly constitutes a local delivery so you would have to be the test case.
in my previous job our legal team fully investigated this and promptly faxed the above to all managers.

unless this has changed and i'm unaware of it can you tell me where you got the fifty metre claim from?
 
This is going to sound pretty weird but it depends what car I'm in. My Anglia has lapbelts and generally I won't wear them out of principle because of the next car in my post. My 100E never had belts and I felt quite safe driving it as it was. I had a high-speed wreck in it and ended up upside down in the passenger footwell but I was ok because the car held up well. Hence I don't wear the lapbelts because I know I'm going to get thrown about in the car and likely have my spine snapped at the base if I wear them. My dad's hotrod I drive quite regularly and that's got belts but it's a 30's car and I don't use them because it makes driving difficult.

On the other hand my girlfriend's Scenic I feel very unsafe if I don't have a belt on. I don't know what it is about modern cars but I don't get any feeling of security in them and I have to (and do) wear a belt.

Before anyone asks I will be putting harnesses in my Anglebox which in my opinion are the way to go.
 
The_Dark_Side said:
incorrect.
the law states you're exempt if you're doing local deliveries, however there is no legal definition of what exactly constitutes a local delivery so you would have to be the test case.
in my previous job our legal team fully investigated this and promptly faxed the above to all managers.

unless this has changed and i'm unaware of it can you tell me where you got the fifty metre claim from?
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http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/seatbelt_law.pdf

bottom of page 2, i knew you was going to ask ;)
 
I personally love wearing a seatbelt and I enjoy wearing one even in a parked car.

My girlfriend and her family don't wear seatbelts as they managed to get through 18 years in south africa without wearing them but I still don't like it. If ever I'm in their car I'll wear a seatbelt and generally insist on locking both my arms around her. It won't do the job of a seatbelt and it might break both my arms but hey, she might not die.

That's the major thing with not wearing a seatbelt. If you have a crash and die because you weren't wearing one, you're dead and thats it. Its me who has to cope with you dying in a completely unavoidable way. If anyone will be in my car once I pass they'll be wearing a seatbelt or walking.

This thread has actually reminded me that I need to do something about her not wearing a seatbelt, I'll be damned if I'm having to deal with someone dying.
 
I always wear the seatbelt when ever I drive, whatever the car is. As people have said, it feels strange without it. The only car I don't wear one in is my dad's 1954 Ford Consul, but that's only because it's not fitted with any :) , and I have to say it does feel a bit strange not to have a belt round me.

My dad is pretty random when it comes to seatbelts. Sometimes he doesn't put it on, reaching for it if he sees a copper (at which point i'll say "why don't you just put the belt on?"), other times he'll put in on a few minutes down the road. Sometimes put it on soon as he gets in the car. He tends to put it on when i'm in the car as he knows at some point i'll say "You gonna put that belt on or what?". He says what I need to remember is that when he passed his test, and for a long time after there were either no belts in cars or no laws to make you wear it, hence why he doesn't wear it sometimes. I just say "you've had since about 1983 or so to get used to it!".

My uncles quite bad with the belt, same as my dad really. My mum however (who is the same age as my dad) always put's her belt on.

We have a customer at work, who's also a friend of my dad's who he's known for at least 25 years who never wears a selt belt (at least, I've never seen him put one on). I'll get in his pickup and put the belt on, he'll say "Don't put that ******* thing on!" I say "I will put that ******* thing on, I don't think i'll like the taste of the dashboard if we have an accident!"
I just don't understand why some people won't put a belt on really. Annoys me to be honest as it takes seconds to pull it round you and plug it in. :)
 
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If you don't want your brains splattered all over the windscreen or spine snapped in half, then I would suggest wearing one.

I do not feel right without one, like a sense of vulnerability. I like to wear a jacket and have the belt on over the top quite tight. I feel more snug and more at one with the car that way.
 
The thought of being propelled at 40+ mph into the steering wheel should be enough to make anyone wear it i would have thought.
 
=GAMMO= said:
http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/seatbelt_law.pdf

bottom of page 2, i knew you was going to ask ;)
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Made 11th January 2005
Coming into force 1st March 2005
Amendment of the 1993 Regulations:-

" (b) the driver of or a passenger in a motor vehicle constructed or adapted for carrying goods, while on a journey which does not exceed 50 metres and which is undertaken for the purpose of delivering or collecting any thing;".

The_Dark_Side said:
however there is no legal definition of what exactly constitutes a local delivery so you would have to be the test case.
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it seems that they've eventually got round to defining "local deliveries"

i DID say last time i checked ;)

btw that pdf file link doesn't work for me :(
 
Edinho said:
The thought of being propelled at 40+ mph into the steering wheel should be enough to make anyone wear it i would have thought.
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It doesn't hurt anywhere near as much as you think it might :D
 
I do wear mine, but I find it horribly uncomfortable if I'm honest.

I'm not much more than 5' and I find the bit that goes across your body normally rubs painfully on the side of my chin/face, usually leaving a nasty red mark,even when it's adjusted to the lowest setting. I have a protector, but that doesn't help much either. I usually put it on and slip my arm through it, so the belt crosses my chest, as although it's not the best way to wear it in the event of a crash, it certainly beats getting my neck broken, which I'm pretty sure is what would happen the usual way. They're not designed for shortarses :D
 
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