Posted on 09/16/2010 12:11:43 AM PDT by UncleHambone
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- When Stephen Carroll got a ticket in June for not wearing his seat belt, he was not pleased. He started buckling up -- not because he was a believer, but because he didn't want another $130 citation.
Then, three weeks later, something life-altering happened.
"Forty years of driving, (I've) never been in a car accident," Carroll said.
But less than a mile from his home, his van was plowed into by a driver who ran a stop sign. The van completely overturned and then landed on its wheels.
Carroll knows his seat belt made all the difference.
"I had my seat belt on, and I can't imagine what would've happened to me if I didn't have my seat belt," Carroll said.
The father of two reached out to the Port St. Lucie police officer who wrote the ticket. Sgt. Kacey Donnell said he initially thought Carroll was calling to complain.
"I've gotten choice gestures and quite a few words and expletives -- even had people, you know, tell me (they) hope I get shot," Donnell said.
Instead, he was stunned to receive a thank you.
"I was pleasantly surprised," Donnell said. "In 13 years of law enforcement, I've never had anybody contact me back to thank me for issuing them a citation."
Carroll admits he only wore his seat belt because of the ticket, but now he's thankful that he did.
"If I did not get a ticket, I would not have been wearing a seat belt that day," Carroll said. "That's a conclusion I can be certain of."
broken clock story. While I absolutely believe the man’s story, it serves as propaganda for this entire seat-belt-as-a-ticketable-offense thing. What about the folks who suffer gut/abdomen injuries/fatalities in wrecks they otherwise might expect little injury? Will we be seeing stories about how someone buckled up due to a ticket, etc?
THREAD BUMP.
Thanks for posting this Uncle Hambone.
Port St. Lucie-doesn’t Rush live there?
Yep, I broke a rib on the seatbelt when a car hit me. But I still think it's a good idea to wear them. A friend of mine rolled her car and broke a lot of bones-- but thankfully, she came to, hanging upside down in her seatbelt, or she might have broken her neck or crushed her skull.
My seventeen year old got a ticket this summer for speeding.
He is a good kid and never causes us grief. I said a
prayer for the policeman who gave him a ticket. My son
paid the $ and I thought if it keeps him from getting in
an accident, it was well worth it. I’ve driven for
forty years without getting a ticket, but I know guys
like speed.
But my argument against the state forcing citizens to protect themselves is an overreach of power, IMHO, and opens the door for the banning of much personal behavior and hence impinges on individual rights.
“I’ve driven for
forty years without getting a ticket, but I know guys
like speed.”
But do you drive the speed limit on the freeway?
But do you drive the speed limit on the freeway?>>>>>
She goes 55 in the leftmost lane
I used to work for the Highway department. I got T-boned in my pickup by a Semi-truck on the interstate. I broke 7 ribs on my left side...and had a crushed pelvis on my right due to my seatbelt. However, If I wasn’t wearing that seatbelt, I’d have been killed.
I don’t believe the state should have the authority to issue seatbelt tickets.
But it is dumb not to wear one. Get ejected and the chances of surviving aren’t high. If you get injured due to the forces against the seatbelt, the injuries would likely be far worse from your body slamming into unforgiving parts of your car from those same forces - if you stay in it.
“Thank you, sir! May I have another?”
Yes, but that still doesn’t make it right for the state to be able to prosecute you for not wearing one. It should be none of the state’s business if somebody wants to be dumb. In Texas motorcycle riders do not have to wear a helmet but people have to wear seatbelts in cars. Apparently bikers have better lobbyist than the general motoring public.
I can remember when cars didn’t have seat belts.
I can remember when cars didn’t have head rests.
I can remember when cops didn’t have radar.
People weren’t so fearful in those days.
Yah, I can remember when the guys drove 100 mph cause
there wasn’t a car in sight. Even the highways were
dark back then.
In my 20 yrs of being a military cop, every wreck I responded to overseas where a person had a seatbelt on, survived....even one with nothing in front of her steering wheel except for a 500 yr old olive tree, engine block gone. Ones that didn’t have it on, not so much. Good enough for me..and my kids will loudly tell anyone that gets in that doesn’t strap in...”seatbelt”...lol. Maybe people can be “stupid” if they want, but when it affects my insurance or medical rates, or paying public benefits out to people that can’t work now because they’re too injured to support their family, I think it is my business. My thoughts on that subject...
If you don’t want to wear a seatbelt, please sign a statement saying you release any public assistance to your family in the event of your incapacitation...do us all a favor. Maybe a little harsh, but people need to take responsibility for their decisions, in my humble opinion.
I never wear a seat belt. I find that it wrinkles my shirts. Plus I have airbags. If I ever was in a rollover, I’d just brace my legs against the seat and hold the wheel tight so I don’t move.
Cheeseburgers affect health insurance rates. Are you in agreement with Moochele about the government regulating them too?
It’s just anecdotal, but I would probably have been either killed or paralyzed back in the 80s when I slid off a road from black ice, were it not for putting on my seat belt about a minute before that accident (AFTER I left the apartment - I didn’t even regularly wear it back then).
After going into the ditch and flipping a couple times, the car ended up back in the middle of the road on its passenger’s side, with me hanging from my seat belt. I LOVE seat belt bruises! Since then, I literally will not even back out of the garage without a seat belt on.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.