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Poll Opened: June 22, 2009
Poll Closes: July 22, 2009
Should driving without a seat belt be illegal?Post a comment
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Reader Comments on this poll
Posted by ( BVDBobcat ) on June 23, 2009 at 8:35 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
It's odd that they pass a law for seat belts after passing a law allowing motorcyclists to drive without wearing a helmet.
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Posted by ( ALLENALBY ) on June 30, 2009 at 9 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Why is it legal not to wear a safety helmet while riding a motorcycle?
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Posted by ( boltsfan1 ) on June 30, 2009 at 9:32 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
its all about revenue. the govt could care less about yours and mine safety
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Posted by ( mwhite6 ) on June 30, 2009 at 11:04 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
ALLENALBY - because it's a personal choice. The counter argument is that the higher incidence of injury, and therefore healthcare, insurance, etc. costs due to not wearing a sealtbelt (or helmet for bikers) is harmful to the community (financially). The problem with that argument is that the same applies to fast food/obesity, gambling, drinking, etc. How much do we want our government to direct our daily lives?
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Posted by ( TBObob ) on June 30, 2009 at 11:45 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
It would appear that law enforcement has more than enough to do protecting our community from muggers, rapists, thieves, and the like and really cannot afford to be spending time pulling drivers over because they are not wearing seat belts but are otherwise operating a motor vehicle properly. Pols demonstrate once again that their priorities are completely screwed up, and that they have this never-ending desire to control every aspect of our lives in an allegedly free country. Enough already!! I can't believe Charlie Crist actually signed this crap - does he not have other, much more pressing issues to work on?!
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Posted by ( commonsensical ) on June 30, 2009 at 2:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
An effective "personal responsibilty" fix would be for auto insurance to decline payouts for your injuries if you are not wearing your seatbelt. (Just as they do now for life insurance if suicide, war, etc.) I already get a discount for passive safety items on my car, and I'm tired of higher rates because of others' preventable injuries.
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Posted by ( BigD777 ) on June 30, 2009 at 3:43 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
This whole seat belt thing is a joke and I refuse to ware one. When this legislation started years ago
it was so Floridians could see some relief when purchasing vehicle insurance. Well we all know that didn't happen. I bought and paid for my vehicles, cars, trucks, and yes motorcycles, over the years and I've paid taxes and obtained the proper registrations and licenses to allow me to operate them on Florida highways.
I've managed to do all that for the last 46+ years and now I need the Government to tell me I have to ware a seat belt? Well I don't think so! If I decide to drive with out a seatbelt that should be my choice, when I ride my bike I don't wear a helmet. This whole thing is about taking away my basic right to make that choice and it's unconstitutional, I've never been asked to vote on this! The only ones that stand to profit from this are the law makers and the insurance companies. I think someone should take another look at the Constitution before the Gov't takes all of our rights away!
What's next a seat belt in the bath tub?
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Posted by ( freddie58 ) on June 30, 2009 at 5:59 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
To allenalby - it is NOT about personal choice, it is the law. Today is the first day that law enforcement can stop someone for not wearing their seatbelt, before they could only ticket someone for a seatbelt violation if that person had been stopped for something else (speeding, broken light, etc), but it has been the law in Florida for many years that wearing a seatbelt is mandatory
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Posted by ( freddie58 ) on June 30, 2009 at 6:02 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
As for motorcycle riders not wearing helmets, they are not required to if they have insurance coverage over $10K (I believe that's the figure). Even so, it's common sense to wear one
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Posted by ( DrJoeS ) on June 30, 2009 at 7:22 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I wish commonsensical's suggestion would be policy. That way you can choose to drive a cycle without a helmet or fly through your car windshield and I do not have to pay for your irresponsibility. Is there any chance that such a plan could be implemented?
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