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Aside from the seat belt law which was passed in 1984, there are reasons why you should buckle your seat belt. Fear of reprisal from being caught without the seat belt while in the car should be the least important of all.

Depending on the state you reside in, the seat belt law is either considered a primary or secondary offense. There is no standard law or penalty since it varies from state to state. Nevertheless, all states recognize the need to protect lives and prevent even more injuries because the driver and passengers refused to buckle up.

Often, it needs a huge jolt for use to realize our folly. In the case of wearing seat belts, this jolt could lead to injuries like paralysis, loss of limbs, or worse, loss of lives. For every reason you may have for not wanting to wear one when inside a vehicle, there are a hundred reasons why you should. Simply put, the hundred reasons or more would be the people on the street, in other cars, or even maybe even your co-passengers in your vehicle.

Some people reason out that since they are just hopping off to the corner grocer to buy something, use of seats belts can be cumbersome and unnecessary. Others say that they don’t need to wear seat belts because they drive slow, or are good drivers. Here are reasons why these are cop-out, nonsense excuses.

One, did you know that over 80% of all vehicular accidents happen close to home? Many of these accidents occur at speeds lower than 45 miles an hour which clearly debunks the “I am a safe driver” excuse. You may be the best driver in the world, but if you come across a driver who takes unnecessary chances, it wouldn’t matter. Accidents will happen, so why risk creating issues where none exist? Seat belts are not even uncomfortable. It just takes getting used to, and you can easily adjust them.

Two, when accidents happen, 90% of the time, you don’t expect them or see them about to happen with enough time to react. Instead of thinking of reasons why you don’t have to wear seat belts, why not think of a broken arm, shattered leg bone, dislocated shoulder, spinal cord injury, or even death? Then, if you have children, why not think of them as orphans in a social services care system? Is this something you want to wish on your children?

Playing with fate is foolish. Hopefully, regrets won’t have to be entertained, and accidents don’t happen to you or anyone you love. It’s just too hard a life lesson to take especially if you fail to see the rhythm and reason behind buckling your seat belt or you were just too lazy to obey the law.

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