I thinks it’s really just normal human resistance to change. I do remember being resistant to seatbelt requirements, mostly because it seemed so unnecessary and uncomfortable.
Even knowing the statistics, I didn’t have family who had been in an accident where the seatbelt would have helped - plus of course I wore a seatbelt (in front). It was interesting that being in the back seat was always different somehow, but you also don’t always have inertial reel or adjustable belts, so I wonder if it comes down to convenience and comfort
It was common where I grew up well into the 90s for people to go on about how seat belts “trap” you in a car during a wreck… as opposed to flinging you from it to die on the road instead, I guess?
A lot of that was infomercial TV grifting too. There were so many companies selling “emergency tools” to cut seatbelts and shatter windows a few years ago.
Everyone has a story about a guy who got flung clear. I’ve never met anyone who has actually been flung clear. I do have a friend who got trapped in a car after it flipped when her hand was pinned by a broken seat. But the seat belt saved her life.
Even more basic - I’ll bet none of those people had been in an accident serious enough to eject them in the first place. Who needs a seatbelt when you can just hold on?
One of my close friends from elementary school was a good argument for seatbelts. She lost her Dad when he was ejected from his Jeep while off-roading, and it rolled over him
I am personally a good argument for seat belts. I nearly died in an accident because I wasn’t wearing one in the back seat. Luckily, I bounced off on the driver’s seat, breaking half of my ribs in the process, instead of being ejected from the car.
This has been happening for decades.
Just the other day someone posted a video from the 80s when more strict seatbelt and drinking + driving laws came into place.
The chuds were all bleating about communism…
I thinks it’s really just normal human resistance to change. I do remember being resistant to seatbelt requirements, mostly because it seemed so unnecessary and uncomfortable.
Even knowing the statistics, I didn’t have family who had been in an accident where the seatbelt would have helped - plus of course I wore a seatbelt (in front). It was interesting that being in the back seat was always different somehow, but you also don’t always have inertial reel or adjustable belts, so I wonder if it comes down to convenience and comfort
It was common where I grew up well into the 90s for people to go on about how seat belts “trap” you in a car during a wreck… as opposed to flinging you from it to die on the road instead, I guess?
A lot of that was infomercial TV grifting too. There were so many companies selling “emergency tools” to cut seatbelts and shatter windows a few years ago.
Survivor bias. My uncle survived because he was thrown clear!! Dead men tell no tales, etc.
Everyone has a story about a guy who got flung clear. I’ve never met anyone who has actually been flung clear. I do have a friend who got trapped in a car after it flipped when her hand was pinned by a broken seat. But the seat belt saved her life.
Even more basic - I’ll bet none of those people had been in an accident serious enough to eject them in the first place. Who needs a seatbelt when you can just hold on?
My best elementary school best friend’s father was one of those people.
One of my close friends from elementary school was a good argument for seatbelts. She lost her Dad when he was ejected from his Jeep while off-roading, and it rolled over him
I am personally a good argument for seat belts. I nearly died in an accident because I wasn’t wearing one in the back seat. Luckily, I bounced off on the driver’s seat, breaking half of my ribs in the process, instead of being ejected from the car.