Anyone who gets into a car and neglects to properly fasten their seat belt deserves whatever horrific thing happens to them in an accident. IMHO!
I get tired of reading the papers about the "poor mother of two" who was "tragically killed" when she was "thrown from the vehicle" while her two children survived strapped into their safety seats. Seatbelts save lives and there is NO excuse to not where one.

 

If you don't want to wear your belt, that's fine. Just remember: THE STUPID SHALL BE PUNISHED!!!!

Cheers,
Steve

 

It is a matter of choice and a weighing of the risks and benefits. I think adults should be free to make their own decisions.

 

So just what are the benefits of not wearing a seatbelt?

 

Obviously if you know you are going to have an accident you want to be wearing a seatbelt (and probably a crash helmet too).

If there is uncertainty about whether you are going to crash or not (which is the normal case), then you can make a decision about whether the risks of having a crash (where seatbelts make a significant difference) outweigh the discomfort and annoyance of wearing the thing.

When I am driving round town I don't usually wear the belt because I think that the sort of low speed, short distance driving I do doesn't make the nuisance value worth it. This is just a personal decision I am not trying to persuade anyone else to do the same thing.

 

John,

obviously you are joking, right?



I feel naked if I am not wearing my seatbelt. Not only that but it actually holds me in my seat so that I am not sliding around in the cabin while cornering, let alone whle in a crash. By not wearing your seatbelt in a crash you become a projectile. In my cars, even my dog has a seat belt on!

If I had my way then helmets and (at least) 4 point harnesses would be compulsory but in this mad place we call Australia, we are unable to register a modern car with harnesses as it needs to have "inertia reel seat belts" to pass registration requirements! Idiots!

 

Ah, yes, but look at the way you drive (I'd want to be strapped in too).

 

Same here!

 

What's wrong with the way I drive?

 

on the topic of safer flying thru windshield.
now how would that be possible with over 60% of your body lying below the dashboard...

i would suspect that it will be a forward motion (not your head flying first then your legs following the path your head took). I think what happens is that you crush yourself into the dashboard and your legs get broken by the pedals/floorboard.

 

Edit
Mercedes Benz Please Step Up To The Plate!



by Linda Loschiavo Makofski on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 4:21pm


If I am sounding like a broken record I apologize. My needle has been stuck in the same groove for months now. I'm praying that Mercedes Benz will step up to the plate and do the right thing. As you know, I've been on this one woman campaign for months now. A friend of mine, Donna M. Mason-Dilday was in what would be considered a minor accident on July 28, 2009. Donna and her husband Jason were driving down Main Street. Jason was taking Donna to the doctor's office. They came to a stop light after having gone about a 1½ blocks. Donna had seen a car recklessly pull out from a side parking lot and fishtail in front of the vehicle they were following. This move caused the vehicle in front of them to slam on their brakes. Since they had just pulled away from the light, they were going approximately 5 - 15 mph. Jason wasn't aware of what was happening until he saw their brake lights go on. He then proceeded to slam on his brakes. Unfortunately they weren't able to respond quickly enough and ran into the back of the vehicle in front of them.
Upon impact, Donna's head cracked the windshield, her side hit the center console, her knee hit the dash and her back hit the door. Her seat belt didn’t cinch, nor did the air bags deploy causing her to be tossed like a rag doll. She saw smoke from the crash and panicked. Given the time, people were right there, called 911 and stayed until help arrived to take them to the hospital.
Her car was totaled. Her Neurological functions have been diminishing since the accident. She is unable to accomplish most normal daily tasks without assistance. Simple tasks are no longer simple. Her Neuro psychological Evaluation performed on February 3, 2010, proved what they already knew; her neurological skills were diminishing. She will have to be retested in 9 months to determine the full extent of her injuries. Mercedes Benz prides themselves as being a safe manufacturer. However how can a fender bender which occurs at a speed of approximately 5 to 15 mph total their car? Their Mercedes' so called “Safety Features” failed miserably. And yet Mercedes Benz continues to excessively advertise their approach when it comes to car safety.
The accident raises the question, should the 2003 seat belts have been recalled just as the seat belts in the 2004 C240 model were recalled?
Donna and Jason had worked hard, saved and budgeted for their "Dream Car". They're dream car turned into their worst nightmare.
Jason wrote a letter to Ernst Lieb, CEO for Mercedes Benz. He asked to have someone come look at the damage. The totaled Mercedes still sits in their garage. Perhaps Mercedes Benz figured they were too big to be sued. I feel pretty certain that Mercedes is aware no attorney could afford go up against such a large company. It would be too costly for the average American to take them on. So instead, Mercedes Benz has done nothing.
To quote Donna, a retired Marine, "My life is slipping away right in front of me and I can’t do anything about it.”
Mercedes Benz decided to pull out of the NYSE in May, 2010, stating Americans weren’t their primary focus, but Germany was. Do you suppose Mercedes might think their vehicles weren’t made for Americans either?
Donna has been in agony for months now. Her insurance has run out and still she believes everything happens for a reason. Her faith has sustained her through all of this.
I'm making a plea to Ernst and Petra Lieb and to Mercedes Benz to look into the matter. This shouldn't have happened. Isn't Mercedes big enough to afford to send an engineer out to their house to inspect the car? These people have been devastated physically, financially and emotionally. My heart breaks for them. So I'm going to continue posting this message until Mercedes Benz steps up to the plate and helps them out. Since the Lieb's are unreachable from this end, if you read this and happen to know them, would you please pass this on?
PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FRIEND'S MERCEDES BENZ IN A 5MPH-15MPH ACCIDENT. THE SEAT BELT DIDN'T CINCH AND THE AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY. PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE WINDSHIELD...DONNA'S HEAD CRASHED THERE. YOU CAN SEE THE DUMMY HAD BETTER LUCK....HIS AIR BAG DEPLOYED.
AND YET, MERCEDES DENIES RESPONSIBILITY! THEY'RE TOO BIG TO FILE SUIT AGAINST. A FAMILY'S LIFE IS RUINED AND LIFE GOES ON.

FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ANYONE YOU MIGHT KNOW IN THE MEDIA, ETC.

Regarding Donna Mason- Dilday and Jason Dilday. Mercedes Benz called. They said they flew an engineer out, from MB-USA, to inspect Donna's car and they couldn’t find anything wrong with it, which is what she expected. However, why did they have to fly someone out when they informed them that they had engineers at the dealership who could handle it. Only someone from MB-USA could have gotten the data off the “black box” (which they deny is there), which records data from multiple safety systems and this is an independently owned dealership.

They did say they weren't going to charge the Dildays for flying the engineer out, nor for the inspection of their car. They said they would tow the totaled car back to them free of charge.

All of these decisions were made by 2 Customer Service Representatives, who claim they have the final say.

The fact remains; her car was totaled in a 5-15mph accident. It was always dealer maintained and had approximately 20,000 miles on it. Donna's life has been forever altered and will never be the same again.


To see photos: http://yourturn.roadandtrack.com/posts/27-this-is-what-a-mercedes-benz-looks-like-after-a-5mph-15mph-accident

 

First off, I'm sorry that happened to Mrs. Donna. It truly is a shame when one gets damaged from an accident.
But what would you like done, honestly? Money. Is that the answer? A $20 million dollar lawsuit, will that make her and her family feel better? Yes, knowing they can buy anything they want, but it won't do anything to help her physically and mentally. Mercedes, as you stated, flew out and paid for towing the car. They can't just give everyone who slams in the back of another car, because at the end of the day the car she was in made impact, money or a free Maybach. Since 2003, who knows what has been done to that car, stuff gets messed up in nearly 10 years, and maybe the restraining system got messed up like other people's radios, door locks etc... Again, it's sad if everything you said pertaining to Mrs. Donna is true, but what do you want from Mercedes if you had YOUR way?