Speaking of Seatbelts

Brian G. NY

Well-known Member
My son wrecked his first car at age 18 while travelling in the neighborhood of a hunerd and twenty.
He had been drinking but even so, he had learned the importance of using a seat belt in his driver ed class.
Incidentally, I think driver ed should be taught in all high schools.
Other than some scratches, bruises and a very sore hip, he was taken to a local hospital, treated and released.
He rolled his '72 Gran Torino Sport over a guardrail, down a steep embankment and landed upside down on a frozen farm pond. If it had not been winter, things might have been different.
Thirty-four years later he never drives when drinking and he still always uses his seatbelt.
He was extremely fortunate and learned a valuable lesson early on.
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I credit surviving an accident about 15 years ago, where a guy went sideways, crossed the center line, and we hit with a combined speed of around 100 MPH, to wearing my seatbelt. He was airlifted to the hospital with questions of would he survive, I walked away with nothing more than a bruise across my chest from the belt.

On the other hand I talked to a guy the other day that had been in a serious wreck. In his case, had he been wearing his seat belt, and not been thrown from the car, he would have been dead as the whole drivers area was crushed when the car made impact with whatever it was he hit (can't remember what he said it was...).

While I can well understand the need to wear one all the time, the other side of the coin suggests that ALWAYS could mean certain death. In the end I simply look at it like this. When your number comes up, and the Good Lord calls you home, your going to go, whether it's in your sleep, or kicking and screaming....seat belt or not....
 
I was in an end over wreck with 5 others in a 67Charger. We all were wearing belts, and had only one small glass cut on one person. I was hanging upside down in the shotgun seat. I turned off the radio (playing Nancy Sinatra Sugar Town) Then we bent a door getting out. Jim
 
Short version - August, 1980 in Houston. I was driving a VW Rabbit, don't remember what year model.

I was the third car in line at a stop light. Got rear-ended by a 1ton Chevy van. He hit me so hard I went into the car in front of me which was a 1980 Grand Prix (land barge). I hit her so hard she broke the windshield with her head (she didn't have her seat belt on). She hit the pick up in front of her and knocked him into the intersection.

At that time, VW was one of the few vehicles with the modern shoulder strap/seat belt combo.

I had it on. When they got the door open on my now super sub-compact VW, I walked away.

I do have permanent damage in my neck, but hey, what's a headache every now and then compared to what would have been if I didn't have my seat belt on.
 

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