Why don't people wear seat belts?

[Anonymous]

I was just reading the article about the fatal crash on the beltway this morning in which the driver of the tractor trailer was "ejected from the cab." I assume he was not wearing a seat belt if he was ejected.

Which makes me wonder; why people don't wear seat belts? I have know a few people who have lost loved one in accidents because they were not wearing seat belts. Also had a friend recently post a picture of their mangled car after a terrible accident that they survived with only a few bruises thanks to wearing their seat belt. a I just don't get it.

[Anonymous]

Sheer ignorance and/or laziness, not to mention extreme selfishness.

[Anonymous]

A lot of times it's cultural. My husband comes from a part of the world where wearing a seatbelt is considered very weak and "not manly".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of times it's cultural. My husband comes from a part of the world where wearing a seatbelt is considered very weak and "not manly".

What culture is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of times it's cultural. My husband comes from a part of the world where wearing a seatbelt is considered very weak and "not manly".

What culture is this?

NP here: on vacation in Mexico, I've driven to many scuba diving sites in jeeps with no doors; no seat belts were used (once we even passed through a police check point). No one cares about seat belts from what I saw. And kids were usually seated in their mothers laps, not car seats).

[Anonymous]

My mother hates them. She doesn't give me any other real reason. She had a bad accident when she was younger. She was injured because she wasn't wearing seat belt. It scared her enough that she refused to drive for nearly a decade, but she will not wear one now.

[Anonymous]

My sister's idiot ex BF once told me eight years ago that he didn't wear seatbelts because it was proven they do more harm than good in accidents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mother hates them. She doesn't give me any other real reason. She had a bad accident when she was younger. She was injured because she wasn't wearing seat belt. It scared her enough that she refused to drive for nearly a decade, but she will not wear one now.

That's amazing, PP. To have had that experience and STILL not wear a seat belt. Is she claustraphobic? Some kind of fear of confinement to explain this? That must be very frustrating for you to witness.

[Anonymous]

When I was an idiot high schooler it was considered uncool to wear a seat belt when you were with just friends. We were all idiots. For that reason it doesn't surprise me when I hear of teenagers not wearing seat belts, but it does surprise me when it is an adult or (much worse) children.

[Anonymous]

I was wondering the same thing about adults, under 45 age, that don't. Were they raised not wearing seat belts? Do they teach their children to wear seat belts?

[Anonymous]

I strongly suspect the poor guy crashed because he was excessively fatigued -- 4:30am and who knows how long he'd been driving -- and for all we know he didn't buckle up for the same reason, i.e., excessive fatigue.

[Anonymous]

Hubris.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate that my local news station seems to have made it a cause in the last three years. They always mention that a seat belt wasn't worn when reporting a death/serious injury. Maybe one person will hear that & buckle up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I strongly suspect the poor guy crashed because he was excessively fatigued -- 4:30am and who knows how long he'd been driving -- and for all we know he didn't buckle up for the same reason, i.e., excessive fatigue.

If you always wear a seat belt excessive fatigue wouldn't stop you, it is instinct.

[Anonymous]

Cause people have this thinking that ABC will never happen to them.