Your Seat Belt... Don't Leave Home Without It: One Man's Opinion

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 03:45 AM

While we have come a long way to wearing seat belts in this part of the country, there are still a few out there that seem to think that wearing a seat belt is just a pain.

I wish there was some way that I could impress upon you folks that neglect to wear that belt, just how important it really is.

I hate to use a first hand experience, but a few weeks ago, I did a double bar roll on Highway 97 north of the city. My truck spun around on me and went into the ditch backwards rolling in the process.

I did not have any control of my truck, but I did have my seat belt on and I walked away from the roll in pretty good repair.

Now before all of you get on my case about driving, I might add I have more than 4 million miles to my credit and this is the first time I have rolled a vehicle off a highway.

Oh I have done it on race tracks and I’m sure my old friend Del Archer will be reading this and chuckling , because he (if I remember correctly) got rid of one of my cars in a race, come to think of it Arch , did you ever repair it?

Get that 4x4 stuff out of your mind, or the speed that you’re travelling at. It simply, I believe, was my time. I hit a crack in the road about 4 inches wide , that wheel caught and the other front wheel let go sending me into a tail spin.

I must say that the roads heading south from Ft St John were in pretty good shape until I hit the YRB section of maintenance and it was best described as bloody terrible.

But back to the topic at hand, the barrel jack I had behind the seat turned into a missile, it along with the wheel wrench and a few pulleys that I had for my winch on the front of the truck were bouncing off me. The air bag didn’t blow because we were going backwards, but that seat belt was a saving grace.

Want to ask someone about whether you should wear a seat belt? Ask any race car driver and they will tell you in the blink of an eye just how important it is.

This past weekend a woman died in a traffic accident on highway 97 south, she was not wearing a seat belt. Whether a belt would have helped save her life is up for conjecture, in my case I can suggest don’t leave home without it.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 03:45 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: metalman on November 28 2007 9:23 AM

A crack in the road 4" wide, that would be a typical Nthn. B.C. road I think. Not a comment on your driving, Ben, but a comment on how well our roads are constructed. Always a challenge, given that mother nature is always rearranging things for us.
Glad you came out of it alive, Ben.
metalman.

Posted by: Parrothead on November 28 2007 9:57 AM

Happens to the best of us, Ben. OK, it hasn't happened to me yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Regardless, you are right on the money with your advice, my friend. of course, one could also argue that if she was too lazy to wear a seatbelt, she didn't deserve to survive either.....

Posted by: Bridge on November 28 2007 10:18 AM

So that brings up another point. Why was a vehicle jack and wheel wrench in the cab? This equipment generaly comes with the truck and is mounted under the hood of the vehicle.

Although the jack that comes with the truck is a of ancient design it does the job but how many people actually ever use it and you would need an elephant to get the spare tire out from under the truck.

Cheers

Posted by: DanSet on November 28 2007 10:19 AM

Seat belts are mandatory. I won't move my car unless everyone has theirs on. This has led to many arguments with my father who refuses to wear one on the grounds that the government is forcing him to do something he doesn't want to do. Oh what a rebel is he, that my counter of "but I love you Dad, and don't want you to die", (echoed by my kids who are always strapped in tight), is ignored. He won't ride with me anymore. He's also one of the guys who smokes in the car so my kids don't ride with him.
I hope that one day he will change his mind on his own or as a result of 1 too many tickets.

Posted by: RRrabbitt on November 28 2007 10:41 AM

A quick survey of our memebership shows that even us "MORONS" wear our seatbelts.... at least the 87% who responded do... the other 13% cannot seem to get the shoulder strap past their nametags.

Goodtimes... :-)

Posted by: diplomat on November 28 2007 12:38 PM

Seatbelts and airbags are designed to work as a team.

If the airbag goes off and you are not kept at the proper distance from it (by the seatbelt) it can crush your ribs, break your arms or smash your face in.

Posted by: Riverfront on November 28 2007 2:18 PM

Glad to hear you survived Ben...and that you had the forthought to buckle-up!!

On a related topic...
I have a daughter who is driven around in one of the small school buses in town. I understand there are no regulations in place to mandate seatbelt use in these vehicles...anyone aware of the "why" on this?

Posted by: Sh*tdisturber on November 28 2007 2:55 PM

Seat Belts work. Anybody that refuses to wear them probably needs to be removed from the gene pool anyways. I always wear mine, not because it's the law, but simply to not do so is stupid. During the recent RCMP campaign to enforce use I heard a spokesman on the radio state that there was a >95% compliance rate, but that they weren't going to stop until they had 100%.
WHO CARES? With property crime rates on the rise and the RCMP claiming they don't have the manpower to do anything about it, what the heck are they doing wasting time and taxpayers money on the very few who are too stubborn or stupid to wear a simple lifesaving device. Any one who sustains injuries in an accident due to failure to buckle up should have all accident & medical insurance denied.
But stop wasting my money on this and lets focus on real crime!

Posted by: Palopu on November 28 2007 4:55 PM

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Seat belts save lives, they also cost lives depending on the nature of the accident. Once you make it mandatory, you have taken away the individuals freedom of choice. Same thing with helmuts for bike riders. To implement a law and then not enforce it is **stupid** yet every day you see people on bikes without helmuts.

It wont be long before all Males will be required to wear a cup to avoid being kicked in the gonades. We will be subjected to searches by the Gonade Police.

If you want to avoid traffic accidents quit building cars that go 120 Miles per hour, that are made out of Fibreglass, Plastic, and Tinfoil, have Governers installed on all vehicles restricting speeds to 60 KPH.

It wouldnt surprise me to find out that the great defenders of seatbelts, probably speed all the time, and therefore would not be in favour of restricted speeds on cars.

Posted by: Harbinger on November 28 2007 6:07 PM

Seat belts? Self-preservation first, then the law. Works fer me.

Posted by: Glen on November 28 2007 7:05 PM

Rollovers happen in 3% of accidents but cause 28% of fatalities. Seat belts save more lives than any other auto safety device. Electronic stability control (ESC) will be a close second, once everybody has it.

Seat belts, airbags, and other passive safety devices help you survive a crash. ESC is an active safety device that prevents one-third of all crashes, 43% of fatalities, and 80% of fatal SUV rollovers.

ESC not only prevents many loss-of control crashes, but if you must crash, ESC helps you crash frontally, so your bumper, seat belt, air bag, and head restraint work properly. And ESC dramatically reduces rollovers by keeping your vehicle moving forward.

All season tires should be called "no season" tires. 4WD does not prevent skids. SUV's (and pickups) are prone to lose control and roll over. These devices inspire overconfidence.

If you drive in winter in an SUV 4WD on all-season tires, your seat belt is your first line of defence.

However, the safest crash is one that never happens. If you drive a car with ESC and proper snow tires, you are less likely to need seat belts and air bags.

Check the IIHS websites. Cars without ESC are disqualified from IIHS Top Safety Pick awards. For ESC videos, click on this link:

http://www.chooseesc.eu/en/media/movies/

Posted by: Glen on November 28 2007 7:13 PM

Posted by: metalman on November 30 2007 9:20 AM

All well and good Glen, but what happened to common sense? Why make the world idiot proof? Is because we are all idiots, that must be prevented from hurting ourselves because we are too stupid to watch out and be careful, drive slower? We would not "need" esc, and abs if, collectively, we were a little smarter, I will grant you that, but why, instead of addressing the problem, do the authorities react to the result, instead of making the effort to find a cure? Instead of building cars that control themselves and you when you say, go too fast and screw up, why not then, just limit the speed of the cars, as Palopew says?
metalman.