In society, many laws are established to protect the members of the community. When do these laws begin to cross the line with the intention of protecting us from ourselves? Do people of adult age need a law to guide them, or can adults be trusted to protect themselves? An example of this type of law is the seatbelt law. .
The seatbelt law allows policemen to pull a person over on a highway or road to fine them for not wearing a seatbelt. The purpose of this law was to save more lives in vehicular accidents. Failure to wear a seatbelt has contributed to more fatalities than any other traffic safety-related behavior. According to the Buckle Up America Program, seatbelts are the most effective safety devices in vehicles today, estimated to save 9,500 lives a year. But, can the government really force people to save their own lives?.
I believe the government should not be allowed to make laws such as this one. I think it demonstrates how they purse eve us as people. They still see us as the uneducated people of the past. An adult should be able to decide whether or not he should take precautions for his own safety. The government should not have to make that .
decision for him. There will always be some people who will wear their seatbelt no matter if it is a law or not, and there are people who will not wear their seatbelt even after laws are passed.
Many lives have been saved by seatbelts, but they don't mention how many lives were saved by not wearing a seatbelt. Even this topic has some drawbacks. Not all vehicular crashes involving seatbelt use has saved a person's life. In some cases, the person is not able to exit the vehicle, and they are killed on impact because they were not thrown out. Defective seatbelts can cause harm. Some seatbelts have even been known to separate from their base upon impact, thus providing no protection to the occupant. In both of these situations, the seatbelt law is not saving lives.
