Seat belts - a little loss of liberty
Thursday, January 31, 2008 Today is the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the law that made it compulsory to wear seat belts in cars. I know this because yesterday afternoon I got a call from the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2 asking what I thought about the issue.
To be honest, I rarely give it much thought, although the health lobby sometimes use the example of selt belts to molify opponents of public smoking bans. "Oh," they chirp, "people were against compulsory seat belts but everyone accepts them now. The same will happen with smoking bans."
There is a big difference, of course. Wearing a seat belt, especially since the introduction of inertia reel belts in the Seventies (ie the ones that allow you considerable movement), is not a major inconvenience. In fact it's no inconvenience at all, so I am perfectly happy to belt up because it doesn't have a negative impact on the quality of my life.
If I stop and think about it, however, I do object to the fact that if I choose not to clunk click every trip I could be stopped and fined. Whether I wear a seatbelt should be no business of the state. If I am in an accident and smash my head on the dashboard or the steering wheel or, worse, get thrown out of the car because I am not wearing one, that's a risk that adults should be allowed to take.
(Children are a different matter. Always err on the side of caution, I say, although I wonder sometimes how the baby boom generation ever survived childhood, what with the absence of seat belts and all those adults puffing away in their presence.)
It could be argued that being forced to wear seat belts was a small step towards the modern bully state. We meekly accepted what politicians and campaigners told us - that tens of thousands of lives would be saved every year - and assumed that would be an end to it.
Now, 25 years later, it's compulsory to wear seat belts in the back as well as the front of the car. Failure to buckle up in the back of a cab is also an offence (although I don't know anyone who does). Perhaps we should all wear straitjackets and be done with it.
Reader Comments (9)
The day seatbelts became compulsory in Great Britain, I immediately objected to it, on the same grounds as those which you Simon, speak about, i.e. "Being bullied".
I also objected to the introduction of parking meters, and at the time, contacted both the RAC and the AA, who I insisted should stand up for the motorists whom they claim to represent.
Needless to say, neither the RAC or the AA helped with either issue.
I personally cannot stand having anything tight across my chest, it is not something medical, it more like a claustrophobic reaction, and because of this, I have never worn a seat belt. That is until certain cars started installing those infernal bleeping machines, which set off their high pitched trill, if one's seat belt is not done up.
As my son has this lawful intrusion into my comfort, installed in his car, I have no option other than to wear the blasted seat belt, and hold my hand behind it all the time, in order to ease the discomfort. (and to stop him moaning of course).
Nevertheless, I think that seatbelts and parking meters were the start of the horrors that were to come. I can just imagine them, sitting there in some vast chamber, like Zeus, looking down on us as he declares what he plans next, "if they accept this lot, they'll accept anything".
And we really did, didn't we!
Hi Peter
I got around the seatbelt issue due to claustrophobia - I had to have a Pshychiatrists report, but was given some lee way at the time by my doctor as I was pregnant. However, I now have an official exemption certificate which was very useful last year as I was stopped twice in a matter of weeks, having never been stopped before. By the time PC Plod has walked to my car from his/hers I have the certificate held to the window and there is nothing they can do. I must admit, it is quite satisfying seeing the look of disappointment on their faces - obviously thought I was going to be another easy statistic!
I do genuinely suffer from claustrophobia and would be likely to pass out if I did wear a seatbelt, which is not condusive to safe driving! As for the bleeping you get from some vehicles if the seat belt is not done up, I do it up across the back of the seat, then sit in the car - problem solved!
Anyway, I wish you luck, but if you do have a real problem, to save being fined, etc, do see your doctor, he should be able to give you a temporary cert in the meantime if he wants to pass the responsibility to a Psychiatrist instead of taking it himself.
Thanks for that information Jane, I will certainly try that one out, about doing the belt up across the seat first and then get in. Such a simple idea, and so good. Why didn't I think of that?
Being the sort of person that I am, I do not have a doctor, in fact the last time I saw a doctor was when I was at school, and without going into my exact age, that was quite a long time ago.
As for a Psychiatrist, who do you think I am, Woody Allen?
Simon
Sadly straightjackets aren't good enough for this government.
Wow. Peter. I thought I was the only person in the country who didn't have a doctor. I was taken off the register of my last one when I moved (11 years ago) and have never registered with a new one. I hadn't seen the previous one in about 14 years. If I should become ill in the future, I'll take the alternative route rather than be bullied into treatment I don't trust.
...and tests I neither need nor want
Hi Peter
You are very welcome to the information. I know what you mean about Psychiatrists and when I had to be evaluated by one when the ban came in I felt really stigmatised, however the ones I have now met are really nice and very easy to talk to.
I have suffered depression and anxiety over the past few years and have to say that being referred to a Psychiatrist, much as it scared me to start with, was the best thing that happened. They are far more willing to allow you a big say in your medication, although they will obviously offer guidance and they have done their very best to source relevant therapies. I can honestly say I would rather see my Psychiatrist than my GP.
Still, it is up to you whether or not you follow this route, but believe me, when you are stopped for not wearing a seatbelt, the look on the bobbies face when you present your Exemption Certificate is just so satisfying!
Take care.
Just on this:
"They are far more willing to allow you a big say in your medication,"
Not that this necessarily applies to you, Jane, but it triggered something about freedom of choice in my mind, in that I hope everyone is aware of the Law of Consent.
No GP can make you do ANYTHING you don't want to do. They can't touch you, examine you, or make you take any medication without your full consent (even if your decision to refuse may appear irrational, or may lead to your own death) unless you can be proved to be lacking the mental capacity to make that decision (e.g. brain damage, mental illness, severe Dementia etc.)
Don't let them bully you into believing otherwise. This is a VERY important Human Right that I believe came about due to the medical abuses during the Holocaust. It has been exercised successfully in the High Courts of Europe with the winning principle being the (seemingly sacrosanct) right to autonomy.
I got round the seat belt laws by buying a 1950's morris with no belts fitted (perfectly legal).....now where can i buy a 1950's pub I wonder ??????????