That seems to me to be a bit of a redundant argument. The car's safety systems are built around the assumption that occupants wear seatbelts and will only function correctly if occupants are restrained in the event of a collision. And whilst driving at 70 or higher is not, in itself, at all unsafe, driving unrestrained in your car at any speed can be. I do understand the "nanny state" arguments, but the car just won't be as safe as it should be if people don't belt up.
[/quote]

Not absolutely true. Airbags were mandated because of the people NOT wearing their seatbelts. If seatbelt usage was in the 90% range back when, Airbags may have never been implemented in the vehicle in the US because NHTSA may not have deemed them necessary. A great percentage of fatalities are to those that don't buckle up properly. In essence, those that didn't wear their seatbelt raised the price of cars because much more technology has gone into cars with the introduction of the airbag (curtains, occupant detection systems, satellite sensors). They charge about 5k for all of these components alone depending on the car, so "our" lack of caution has basically increased prices.

Me personally, I don't care whether you wear a seatbelt or not...to each his/her own. I wear one at all times, I make my children buckle up, and I nag my friends until they give in (when driving with me). When I was young, I used ride around in the back of pick up trucks and everything, but today's traffic and times are different, and with education, I've come to realize that I was blessed that nothing fatal happened to me while I did those things.

Lastly, for those of you praising seatbelt wear, how many of you feel the same about motorcycle helmets? Do you realize that seatbelt is law and motorcycle helmets are not...don't really understand that one.

What I do care about are those things that affect other people. Cell phone usage and drinking and driving, don't really like the effect either of those have on our roads, but as to the seatbelt, it's your life...

 

Motorcycle helmets are law in most European countries.

 

That seems to me to be a bit of a redundant argument. The car's safety systems are built around the assumption that occupants wear seatbelts and will only function correctly if occupants are restrained in the event of a collision. And whilst driving at 70 or higher is not, in itself, at all unsafe, driving unrestrained in your car at any speed can be. I do understand the "nanny state" arguments, but the car just won't be as safe as it should be if people don't belt up.
[/quote]

Not absolutely true. Airbags were mandated because of the people NOT wearing their seatbelts. If seatbelt usage was in the 90% range back when, Airbags may have never been implemented in the vehicle in the US because NHTSA may not have deemed them necessary. A great percentage of fatalities are to those that don't buckle up properly. In essence, those that didn't wear their seatbelt raised the price of cars because much more technology has gone into cars with the introduction of the airbag (curtains, occupant detection systems, satellite sensors). They charge about 5k for all of these components alone depending on the car, so "our" lack of caution has basically increased prices.

Me personally, I don't care whether you wear a seatbelt or not...to each his/her own. I wear one at all times, I make my children buckle up, and I nag my friends until they give in (when driving with me). When I was young, I used ride around in the back of pick up trucks and everything, but today's traffic and times are different, and with education, I've come to realize that I was blessed that nothing fatal happened to me while I did those things.

Lastly, for those of you praising seatbelt wear, how many of you feel the same about motorcycle helmets? Do you realize that seatbelt is law and motorcycle helmets are not...don't really understand that one.

What I do care about are those things that affect other people. Cell phone usage and drinking and driving, don't really like the effect either of those have on our roads, but as to the seatbelt, it's your life...
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I think you may have missed my point. Irrespective of the underlying reasons for the development and introduction of airbags, right now they *are* part of an integrated safety system and would not be as effective if occupants were not wearing seatbelts.

 

Air bag system is "Supplemtal Restraint Systems"
It is supplemtal to the seat belt.

 

Interesting points of view here. Maybe instead of a chime BMW could have used the I-Drive screen and Dashboard screen (much like the low gas warning) which you would have to deactivate by pressing the I-drive or the check button on the steering column.

Wearing a seatbelt may seem less useful if you are driving in the back alleys or country roads to get to the local convenience store for picking up milk and eggs. But..... remember guys it's not your driving skills that you should be confident of but rather the unattentive driver who is pulling out form nowhere that you should be afraid of. You have to think about an unexpected(or should i say accidental?) impact. You would be better off with the seatbelt than going superman through your windshield.

 

swajames, you are right, I did miss it. My message was for everyone in general, but you are correct, these systems are designed to work in conjunction with the seatbelts. Which is a very good point you bring up. These systems are not a replacement for wearing our seatbelts.

 

Why should I buckle up if I'm sitting in the driveway in park with the engine on playing with my audio system? Why should the car insist that I do?

 

What if you're sitting in your driveway, and a car runs into you at full speed!? BUCKLE UP!!!

I counted the number of times my car chimes before it goes off... It does it 30 times!!! It gets REALLY annoying. However it does work. Just this little feature alone, makes BMW a safer car, with them having less casualties.

 

Motorcycle helmets are law in most European countries.
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Helmets are mandatory in Maryland.

Nick

 

They are not required in Florida.