Seatbelt Reform
Bobby Wilson
English 102
October 4, 2011
Death by Seatbelt
The question of how imperative is it to enforce seatbelt laws in order to mitigate or reduce the number of deaths in the United States resulting from automotive accidents. The answer may somewhat obscure; the reason being because this issue has been an ongoing debate since 1849. “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States among persons aged 5–34 years” (vital signs: Nonfatal, motor vehicle, 1681). Edward J. Claghorn, patented the concept of seatbelt safety and from then on, the question whether or not it is vital to enforce a seat belt law has been the topic of many political debates. The answer may be somewhat obscure, given that many American’s feel that it is a violation of their rights to have such a law enforced upon them. Contrary to popular beliefs, seat belts have been shown to be the most effective method for reducing injuries in the event of a car crash. Seat belts, given the beneficial statistics, should then be reinforced under United States law. The United States currently has a primary and secondary law regarding seat belt safety, with the exception of New Hampshire. This primary law allows law enforcement to issue a citation to the driver not wearing a seat belt regardless if a traffic violation has occurred. This primary law is enforced by twenty-nine states through the nation.
With states under the secondary law, law enforcement does not have the ability to issue a no seat belt citation, unless another traffic violation has occurred. This law is practiced amongst twenty states throughout the U.S.
Although seatbelts laws have been set to protect us from injuries or even death from a car accident, some still argue against their use. Since laws for seatbelt have only been around the late 1970’s, drivers were already not wearing seatbelts because there was no law at the time and/or there were no seatbelts in their vehicles. Other argues that
English 102
October 4, 2011
Death by Seatbelt
The question of how imperative is it to enforce seatbelt laws in order to mitigate or reduce the number of deaths in the United States resulting from automotive accidents. The answer may somewhat obscure; the reason being because this issue has been an ongoing debate since 1849. “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States among persons aged 5–34 years” (vital signs: Nonfatal, motor vehicle, 1681). Edward J. Claghorn, patented the concept of seatbelt safety and from then on, the question whether or not it is vital to enforce a seat belt law has been the topic of many political debates. The answer may be somewhat obscure, given that many American’s feel that it is a violation of their rights to have such a law enforced upon them. Contrary to popular beliefs, seat belts have been shown to be the most effective method for reducing injuries in the event of a car crash. Seat belts, given the beneficial statistics, should then be reinforced under United States law. The United States currently has a primary and secondary law regarding seat belt safety, with the exception of New Hampshire. This primary law allows law enforcement to issue a citation to the driver not wearing a seat belt regardless if a traffic violation has occurred. This primary law is enforced by twenty-nine states through the nation.
With states under the secondary law, law enforcement does not have the ability to issue a no seat belt citation, unless another traffic violation has occurred. This law is practiced amongst twenty states throughout the U.S.
Although seatbelts laws have been set to protect us from injuries or even death from a car accident, some still argue against their use. Since laws for seatbelt have only been around the late 1970’s, drivers were already not wearing seatbelts because there was no law at the time and/or there were no seatbelts in their vehicles. Other argues that