Ill. may order backseat passengers to buckle up

Ill. may order backseat passengers to buckle up

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.—
Illinois vehicle passengers -- whether in the back or front seats -- may soon have to strap in under legislation requiring everyone to wear seatbelts, regardless of age.

Legislation tightening the state's seat belt law has been approved by the Illinois House. It now goes to the Senate, where President John Cullerton has often backed traffic-safety measures.

Currently, safety belts are required for backseat passengers only if they're 19 or younger. The House bill that passed 61-55 on Thursday would require belts for everyone with a few exceptions, such as passengers in cabs.

Supporters call it common-sense safety legislation. Opponents say there's little evidence of a serious problem with backseat passengers being killed or injured because they weren't using seat belts.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-xgr-backseatbelts,0,3097678.story

Interesting.

The car does not move unless everyone is wearing a seat belt.

I'd pontificate about how adults should have the right to risk their lives if they want to, blah blah blah. And then I met and became best friends with a man who was an EMT. For three years I watched him suffer nightmares, stomach ulcers, anxiety attacks, and even PTSD flashbacks because of the horror-gore he witnessed every day while responding to the scene of car accidents. He wasn't the only EMT to suffer these problems, either--it was pretty common. He finally, finally got a couple of promotions and became a county emergency manager, but even now, he still has nightmares.

Seeing the mangled remains of human bodies, hearing the cries of agony and trying to comfort and treat the victim while waiting for the fire truck to bring the Jaws of Life, constantly being the person to whom someone's last, pain-filled words are entrusted...that can traumatize ANYONE. Even professionals who see it every day.

So I thought about it again, and I decided that my right to risk being horrifically injured in a car crash is NOT more important than the rights of the EMTs who come save all our lives to be able to sleep at night without nightmares and to be able to get through the day without PTSD flashbacks of my innards all over the pavement.

When you consider it this way, opposing seatbelt laws is a selfish and cruel thing to do. Even if you don't give a damn about yourself, at least consider that some innocent person is going to have to be the one to clean your body parts up. Considering how much our EMTs and emergency responders sacrifice already for all of us, why on earth would anyone DELIBERATELY make their jobs even more emotionally difficult than they already are?

that many people are stupid. And terrible at doing rational risk assessment. Anyone who worries in the slightest about dying in an airplane crash, or getting cancer from a cellphone, who does not fasten their seatbelt (in the front or in the back) is a complete idiot.

Not really a valid argument for forcing people to do something. We can't go around legislating against one for the potential that someone else may be affected. You'll end up with a clusterfuck.

I'm libertarian in just about everything except the economy, health care, and education. If you're not in business or abusing your kids or other people, the government should leave you alone.

Public safety, the sensibilities of EMTs, all secondary to issuing tickets.