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."
As a racer, I hope your question is a sarcastic one. I can attest that his fatal injury was a result of his dislike of the safety equipment because it took away his edge of being able to “feel” the air in the side window. He has made comments to that effect.
The advent of the HANS device is undeniably the best life saving innovation since they started to put aircraft seat harnesses in racing cars. The best arguement for a harness is that it keeps you in a relative static position while the car and dynamic forces are going all over the place. This static position also keep the driver positioned to better control the steering, braking, vision and acceleration while everything around the him/her is wanting to fly in all sorts of directions.
After driving a racing car for a weekend of racing, I will get into my truck, put on the seat belt and I feel like I am going to fall out of the seat. But I do know even with that restraint system, I am far better able to effectively apply control moves when the unexpected and eventual event of an out of control moment arises because I am at the controls instead of being thrown around like a rag doll.
Put your seat belt on - The airbag will wipe you out if you aren’t wearing it.
Saved by the seatbelt here. Always wear one now without fail and everyone in the car has to as well. No negotiation.
Ping for story and comments
I was saved by a seat belt when I was 21 years old. I made a dumb move and veered off the road trying to avoid 3 deer standing in the middle of the road. My convertible flipped and it was turned into an upside down sled. Windshield was smashed into the steering wheel. The convertible top was torn off and the top of the drivers seat was torn from being scraped in the dirt. My hair was dirty but I was not harmed. Not even a scratch. I was hanging in my seat upside down by my seat belt.
Agreed!
I never cease to be amazed by those who are too ignorant and bullheaded to understand basic physics and why a seat belt will almost always be in your best interest.
But hey, let them not wear it and clean up the gene pool.
The issue is not the swearing of the seatbelt it is the infringement on rights by the government.
I had a friend roll his car recently, and he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. He was immediately ejected from the car. The fireman on scene said had he been wearing his seat belt, he would most certainly have died. But we don’t hear these stories.
Indeed, if we follow that logic then we should STOP wearing our seatbelts when the next anecdotal story is published about a miraculous escape from death because the driver was NOT belted.
I wish a written statement would help me. Unfortunately, If I get caught not wearing my shoulder-rig belt, I can get a ticket.
Back when I piloted my hot-rod '55 Chevy, I always wore my lap belt. When I flew with my dad as he did stunts in his piper cubs and pacers, I wore lap belts. When I flew in Boeing commercial jets at 500mph, I wore lap-belts.
Now, when I drive around town at 20-30 mph, the stupid state of KS wants me to strap in with a shoulder belt system, or they threaten to fine me.
I am defying them, as I have an implanted pacemaker/defibrillator that causes my upper left chest to quickly get rubbed raw if I strap on a shoulder belt, and I would probably have my implanted appliance destroyed or the leads ripped out of my heart if I ever had an accident with the belt right across the implant site. I would rather take my chances without the shoulder belt. If a lap belt was still an option, I would use it.
She was returning the next day from a trip and I stopped by her house to stock some perishable breakfast items for her so she didn't have to worry about getting out to the supermarket immediately upon her return. She had told the (small) town police department that she was going to be away but didn't include my license plate on her list of vehicles that might be at the house.
I was happy that the town police had included her house on their "close inspection" rounds.
An ER surgeon I know offered an interesting argument though that seatbelt/helmet laws help keep people out of the ER (and drain drain services there for free) due to an accident.
People weren’t so fearful in those days.
Cars were built to take crashes better than the plastic hunks of junk of today. The bumpers of yesterday would total out the cars of today.
I am actually one of the rare statistics that survived a wreck because I was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown clear during an accident. But there was probably a bit of a guardian angel in that situation too.
It’s the same in Wisconsin.
I lived through that type of accident. My vehicle hit an embankment before rolling. The engine came into the cab of the pickup. If I would have been in a seatbelt, the steering wheel would have crushed my chest, killing me. The engine would have taken my legs.
Instead, I actually walked away from the accident with “minor” injuries (literally walked away, I had to walk for help).
You are going out the window. Then the car will roll over on you.
Those airbags are going to break your fingers and wrists when they go off. Better to let go of the wheel just prior to impact . . .
This happened to a coworker of mine in a Volkswagen Jetta involved in a 30mph crash.
When I worked EMS in high school, you could always tell the cars where the driver wasn’t wearing a belt by the bloody head-shaped bulge in the windshield. But cars were heavier then and could stand up to an accident better. Today, they just roll over. Much of the time, the driver gets about halfway out of the window before the roll.
Nasty.
It’s called “airbag burn”.
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