Why don't people wear their seatbelts?

Question

What possible reason is there? It's not uncomfortable, it's not hard to do, it's not uncool, so why don't some people do it? Just to explain, my good friend's sister died in a car wreck this morning. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt and I'm not sure why.

Answer 1

Sigh.... Ya, I know, I'm with ya.  I saw a video recently of a re-enactment of a true story.  Several teenagers got in a car.  3 of them had their seat belt on.  The other one in the back seat did not.  They were hit so hard that he went flying up front, crashing against the people in the front, killing them and then they were hit from the front as well and he crashed into the girl in the backseat, leaving her with severe brain damage and killing himself as well. The ones in the seatbelts probably would have lived if it wasn't for him!!!!  My husband won't wear a seat belt because he was in an 18 wheeler accident once and if he had been confined to a seatbelt, he probably would not have made it.  I saw the truck and he would have been without a head.  I kind of like him WITH his head.  When the truck was pulled up and then slammed on it's side, he was able to dive into the passenger area and probably saved himself.  It won't happen that way again.  I told him to wear his seatbelt with others in the car, like me, cuz I don't wanna die.  jSome people, just don't remember their seatbelt or think they are going on a short ride and won't need it or take it off for a second and that's IT.  I also saw a picture of a pickup truck that a father was teaching his daughter to drive in the parking lot of a church.  She was wearing, he was not.  Something happened, she panicked and hit the gas and rammed into a tree at about 26 miles per hour.  Dad hit the glass and died.  Personally, I feel more secure in my auto with the seat belt on.  My husband says it's against his civil rights.  What about mine?

Answer 2

Stupid, Lazy, Fat

Answer 3

My best friend will not wear his seatbelt. He said he has to die sometime. I completely disagree with him. A seatbelt saved my life. He does wear it in my car because I make him, but he won't wear it in his car. This makes me very sad because he's only 37, and I hate that he has that attitude. I have also met people who say they "would rather be thrown clear of the wreck". I don't understand that logic at all. There are many reasons why people don't wear their seatbelts...they think they are only going on a short ride, they don't want to mess up their clothing, it bothers their neck, etc.

I'm sorry about your friend's sister. That's a shame.

Answer 4

People make various excuses for not wearing seatbelts:

forgot to do it.

not worth wearing one for a short trip.

not necessary to wear a seatbelt at lower travel speeds.

careful drivers don’t need to.

they are not very comfortable.

Some passengers in rear seats do not wear seatbelts because they believe that being in the back seat is safer than the front.  This is false.  

An unrestrained rear seat passenger can hit the sides and roof of the car and be thrown onto the front seats and collide with front seat passengers with great force.  

The forward movement of unrestrained passengers results in severe injuries to themselves and increases the risk of severe injuries for those in the front seat - even those drivers and passengers who have done the right thing by wearing their seatbelts properly.

Answer 5

A, because they are too big to use a seat belt or B, they are very stupid and don't know how to put on a seat belt.

Answer 6

There is no legitimate reason for not wearing a seat belt. There's lots of lame reasons, though. Even if a person is obese, you can get extenders to enable them to fit around a huge stomach.

Answer 7

my husband has seen the good and the bad of seat belts. He totaled one car and he was thrown free from the car. If he had been wearing his seat belt he would have been crushed to death. Then on the other hand though a couple of years later he totaled a truck and he was wearing his seat belt. If he hadn't had it on then he would have been thrown through the windshield and killed. So there is good and bad to everything. But now a days he wears it all the time he says it's just because he wants to set an example for our children. Basically Safety First. I have and always will wear my seat belt.

Answer 8

BECAUSE PEOPLE THINK THAT THE TIN CAN THEY DRIVE IN WILL GIVE THEM SOME SINCE OF SECURITY,WHICH IS NOT GOOD,THE CARS OF TODAY ARE THE BIGGEST RIP OFF TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SINCE THE CELL PHONE...IF YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DRIVING IN THE THICKNESS OF THE SHEET METAL IS THE SAME THICKNESS AS A POP CAN.AND YOU DRIVE 70 MPH WE WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF WE DROVE AROUND IN A NASCAR.THEN WHEN WE DO WRECK WE WALK AWAY UNHARMED....SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS SISTER,AND THEY SHOULD HAVE A SWITCH IN THE BELT SYSTEM SO THE CAR WON'T START UNLESS THE SEAT BELT IS FASTENED CORRECTLY....

Answer 9

Some people find it inconvienent to wear seat belts. Others find it uncool. I agree with you, because my dad's friend's only daughter died in a car accident with friends at 16 because she wasnt wearing one.

Answer 10

because safety is the choice of the individual.  some people think they won't get into a wreck, so they choose to not wear a seat belt.  its their choice.  unfortunatley many people are really bad at making choices

i can't think of a reason not to wear one, its why i always wear one

Answer 11

I know of several people that do not wear their seat belts. I have tried to talk them in to wearing their seat belt but they always tell me that its their choice and that no one can tell them that they have to wear it. I always wear mine. I totalled my car about 10 years ago and walked away without a scratch. The police officer told me that I must have been wearing my seat belt because there was no way I would be standing there talking to him if I was not wearing it. The officer even told my Dad to be thankful that I was wearing my seat belt because if I had chose not to wear it I could have been seriously injured or I could have died. Since the accident everyone in my family always wears their seat belts.

Answer 12

I would never understand this too.  Having been involved in a major accident last year, if I and my passenger weren't wearing our belts,  we would've been thrown against the interior of the car or out of the windshield and possibly killed or at least seriously injured.

I often hear arguments from certain people that they're afraid of being trapped in their vehicles by the belt and would rather be "thrown clear" than to be stuck.  To me this doesn't hold much water as statistics show one is much more likely to be involved in accidents where seatbelts save their lives than in one where being thrown clear doesn't result in a fatality.