Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Kooky Like Jerry Williams
Call me kooky, but I’m from the school of thought that when the Man Upstairs decides to pluck your sorry butt from amongst the living, then nothing will save you, not even a seat belt. I’m hoping our old friend Jerry Williams is “talking me up” to the Almighty as I write this otherwise I might find my personal freedom forever restricted by a seat belt in Purgatory. For those who don’t remember Jerry, he was the talk radio host that campaigned against seat belt laws and won.
As the Patriot Ledger leads the way with the usual media attention given to fatalities on our highways, by forever stating that these poor souls would still be with us if they had only worn their seat belts, the question begs to be asked, how do you really know? In fact, no one knows whether a seat belt or an air bag could have saved a life, except presumably the Man Upstairs. That doesn’t stop the media and police from incessantly schooling us, whenever there is a vehicle fatality, who was wearing seat belts and who was not. One thing that is for certain, seat belt laws create revenue for the states and profits for insurance companies.
Do seat belts save lives? Maybe, and if you think it’s going to get you a few more days in the “here and now”, then by all means, wear one. Do laws requiring that you wear them save lives? No, in fact states that have primary (mandatory) seat belt laws such as Mississippi and Maryland, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, both had more traffic fatalities in 2008 than Massachusetts, who does not have such a law. Oh yes, and guess who had the least amount of traffic fatalities? If you guessed New Hampshire, you guessed right and the best part is they don’t have any seat belt law. Another tid-bit for all those who think Massachusetts is made up of crazy drivers; we actually consistently have the least fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.
So I’ll stick to driving carefully and safely on my own as I always have. I don’t need the government to dictate whether I should wear a seat belt, or use a cell phone while behind the wheel, or any other revenue generating regulations in order to be a safe motorist. I’m crazy like that.
POSTED BY STAN on July 7, 2009
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