being born and raised in sf, it's always been second nature to put my seat belt on.  seems like everyone in the city buckles up...but whenever i visit family and friends in the east coast or even nevada, they look at me as if i'm crazy when i put my seat belt on.  what's up with that??

Every time.  My car was totaled in the end of June.  Had I been a little farther out or not wearing a seat belt it would have been ugly.  When someone hits you, esp. going fast they hit you so hard, I can't imagine flying about at the force of impact.  Crazy.

Jesus...

oh shit..

Sick bastardo!

I'm scared to look at that vid, Andrew!

Yep, I buckle up; it's second nature.  I feel naked without it.

anybody notice that people outside of california don't buckle up??

sometimes on the bus i reach for a belt and it's not there....

that always freaks me out.

It's been law in California longer than in most (possibly all) states so we're more used to doing it...

While I'm personally fairly libertarian about these things and generally don't give a rat's ass how you endanger your own life, I'm very much for seatbelt use.  As much as I believe in the Darwinian thinning of the herd, our healthcare and insurance system makes it so that we have to pay for the care of others. As long as I'm absorbing those costs with my premiums, damn right I want everyone to wear a safety belt (or helmet when riding).

As much as I don't care if your own actions kill you, I DO care when your actions affect my bottom line.

Yeah, I'm selfish.

Natural selection...  Darwin rules.

i've gotten 2 $50 tickets for not wearing my seat belt.
Sucks!
so i buckle up now.

I always buckle up.  I feel weird NOT wearing one.

seat belts are second nature to me; it's just weird to start driving without the safe feeling of being nestled into your car.

it's like your car is hugging you back. i love my car.

I always wear my seatbelt but I definitely have some friends that never wear them for some odd reason.

I always wear them. It's to where I feel uncomfortable without it.

It's second nature to put it on as soon as I get in the car. I also make sure  all my passengers are wearing theirs too.

I'm with you, Omid. Don't want nobody raising my rates with their self-endangerment.

That being said, when I hop in the old '61 Morgan, it doesn't even have seat belts, and since they weren't standard when it was built, CA law grandfathers it in, so you are not required to buckle up while driving it. Pretty much the only car and only situation where I don't wear a seat belt..

I always where them, too. Maybe it's cuz I've only owned tinker toys for cars, but I totally feel tossed around with every little turn if I don't wear the belt. That might also be cuz I'm a crazy driver & I inspire my passengers to grip their door handles...hmmm.

With the amount of people that run red lights here...absolutely!!!!!

The video was nothing...a lot of folks who don't wear seatbelts are thrown out of their cars onto pavement.

My friend's 16 year old son (no seat belt) died while the family of four was driving to Nevada. The son fell asleep at the wheel and he hit a semi head on.

Only one passenger was wearing a seat belt- (he was fine) the other 3 landed on the freeway.

Please...buckle up...it takes a second...
same amount of time one can lose their life.
One second.

I'm under the impression that insurance won't pay if you are in a wreck when not wearing your seatbelt....?

Good question Joan...I don't know.
Anybody?...
If ins. doesn't pay...just one more reason to buckle up, huh?

i know someone that didn't buckle up had an accident, hit the dashboard broke his nose the bone fragments severed some important nerves and he lost his sight as a result--buckle up!!  why wouldn't you?

Whether it is a 10min trip to the store or a 1 month roadtrip to the East-coast, under any circumstance,the seatbeat is clicked on. I am a civil-service employee,and seatbelt is a must.

That's terrible,Sveta

Right on, sveta.

Back to Hello K.'s conversation starter...I have lived around the country , yet the folks I drove with wore their seat belts.

all the time, even when i have to move the car around in the driveway

I've been reminded to buckle up even on airport shuttles.

it's crazy why people wouldn't buckle up...

Our son's kindergaten class will have a field trip next week.  Why is it despite seatbelt and child seat requirements that school buses don't have them?  I'm worried as hell, of course.

Yes.  Sometimes not in cabs though.

Click it or ticket!

With two little kids, buckling up is a family activity in itself.  But even when the older kid isn't in her booster seat, I keep THAT buckled in too - could turn into a projectile.

So yeah, I always buckle and I make sure everyone else in the car is too.  If passengers in your car don't wanna, tell them you don't want their skull smashing into yours if there's a wreck.

your friends must be from the southern states...my east coast friends don't believe in the life is cheap theory...i buckle for life...

i suspect it is still true today, but VW autos required the seatbelt to be engaged for the car to start

Michael h. -very funny. after my recent trip up to sacramento and roseville i can really see the humor in your comment! I came back with a whole new perspective on why I love SF so much!

There are a lot of insane drivers out there,esp. SF
my strong advice to you:

"BUCKLE YOUR DAMN SEATBELTS"
or else one-less yelp-members

Ralph...not true. I have a 99 VW and it doesn't require you to buckle your seatbelt. The older Jettas did, but that was only the top portion of the seatbelt. The lap belt could stay unbuckled.

judging from the number of scraped doors, bashed fenders, etc etc that i see on brand new cars around here (i mean, they don't even have their permanent plates yet!) I always buckle up. never, since vancouver, have i ever had some many drivers make eye contact and STILL ignore who has the right of way. I'd love to get a motorbike here, but i'm scared...

hell yes.

whenever i sit in the front i buckle up... whenever i'm in the back... i tend not to. bad habit, i know. but it just doesnt "feel right"

What is the reasoning for NOT buckling your seatbelt?  I just can't imagine what the logic is behind that.

always

Bee H, thanks for the update.  i had a '90 jetta, i thought it was a good idea to require the shoulder belt to be secured and would have thought that to be a good safety feature to continue, oh well

always. mamma didn't raise no fools.

Seat belts?  It's the law.  I've been ticketed 3 times for being a seat belt outlaw.  Not worth the ever increasing fines.  Spend your money on something more fun...

you have to be an idiot not to buckle up!..and if it's the mid-west we're talkin about...nuff said...lol..survival of the fittest...lol

I buckle up when I drive and usually when I'm at the passanger side...I almost never buckle up when I'm sitting in the back seat...

only a fool doesnt buckle up. even if I start to drive off initially without it , I always remember that only fools drive with out seat belts

bumpy!

I just saw an interview via TV with N.J. Governor, John Corzine who was  in an auto accident on April 17th, 2007.
He was not buckled in and sustained many injuries (broken leg, multiple rib fractures, chest injuries)  as he bounced around the vehicle.

I just don't get it...why would ANYbody NOT buckle up?!

Is it lazy or do they feel they're invincible?
_______________________

As Per:
zwire.com/site/news.cfm?…

The SUV carrying Gov. Jon Corzine was traveling about 91 mph seconds before it crashed,
State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes said yesterday.

The governor was critically injured when the vehicle crashed into a guardrail on the Garden
State Parkway just north of Atlantic City last week. He apparently was not wearing his seat
belt as he rode in the front passenger's seat.

The speed limit along that stretch of the parkway is 65 mph.

__________________
The TV interview was basically about how fortunate this guy felt about surviving his injuries...too bad the focus wasn't on seatbelt safety.

His drivers and guards were probably told to stop reminding him to put a seatbelt on.  Straight up stupe-head.  Probably the 'it'll never happen to me' crowd.  (They were speeding on their way to meet with the insulted women of the Rutgers basketball team.)  Seatbelts save lives.

And in a separate matter, the promising St Louis Cardinals 25 year old pitcher that died last week after he ran into the back of a parked flatbed tow truck?  Legally drunk - twice the legal limit - and he was also talking on his cellphone with a buddy.  :^(

At the risk of being called "a voice for the police" again...everyone should wear a damned seatbelt.  It's selfish as hell not to.  Even if you don't give a shit about your own life...just think about how you're going to ruin that poor 16 year old's life when he hits you going 25mph and you die because you're too stupid to buckle a seatbelt.

I feel naked without my seatbelt. I always put mine on right after I start the ignition. YOU KNOW WHO DOESN'T LIKE WEARING SEATBELTS? Euge. Do me a favor and rag on him for me please. I don't want him to die. I don't give a rat's ass if you say, "seatbelts are uncomfortable." What's more comfortable, wearing a seatbelt or your skull smashing through your windshield?

I was in an accident two years ago, where our car was broadsided.  I remember flying forward in my seat, and my head was going straight for the A-pillar.  Then I remember the seat belt catching, and snapping me back into the seat.  If I hadn't been wearing my seat belt, my head would have hit either the pillar at 40mph, or I would have gone throught the windshield.  

Not that a PSA like this is that necessary, but wear your seat belt.  I see people every day who aren't wearing them, and it's just incredible to me.

Always.  It's your life.  A seatbelt is a small price to pay to save it.

Yes- I buckle up all the time. It saved my life about 2 1/2 years ago:

static.px.yelp.com/photo…

I buckle up always.  Don't think the you don't need to buckle up in the back seat.  That is how I lost my best friend a few years back.  It was raining and they were going a bit too fast.  The SUV hydroplane and flipped.  She got thrown out from the back window 20 feet.  The two other had the seat belts on. But the driver didn't survive either but he died from the impact of the steering wheel.

In short. Wear your damn seatbelt all it takes is 3 seconds to clip on and be done with.

Survival can absolutely depend on your seatbelt.  Two good friends driving in the rain over a north Cascades mountain pass were hit head on by a hauling truck who had drifted over the yellow line going up the hill and around a corner at the same time.  One has recovered from her duo of broken legs, the other is also fine now that he's fully recovered from his broken back.      

Worked with a gal once who had her jaw *re-wired* shut for two months.  She had a bunch of awful stories about her teeth and how they weren't really attached to her jaw any longer - they floated around a bit.  Driving with no seatbelt, she 'bit' her steering wheel and didn't really like to eat after that.  She was great reinforcement.