...Are seatbelts necessary “We have all heard the excuses before, it’s uncomfortable, I'm only going around the corner, I'd rather be thrown out of a car than be stuck in a seatbelt and my favorite, and I’m a good driver I don't need to wear one.” These are just a few quotes I am sure we have all heard when it comes to buckling up. Guess what accidents happen! Seatbelts are designed to help protect you in case of an accident. Some people argue that seatbelt laws infringe upon a person’s civil liberties and since in some instances seatbelts may cause injury or death, that the government has no right to force a person to do something that may be endangering ones safety. Benjamin Franklin once said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety”. Firstly, seat belt use should not be mandatory because seatbelt campaigns spend millions of taxpayer dollars that could go toward funds for causes such as schools and charities. We pay taxes, right. In addition, our taxes are supposed to go to the government to be spent on causes that help the population, right. Well, would you want your hard-earned money spent on enforcing an unjust law? Dr. Walter Williams states, in an article published September 10, 2003, “Under the Transportation Equity act for the 21st Century, the federal government is spending $500 million to enforce seatbelt laws.” Do you want your taxes to be spent on enforcing a seat belt law? Think of all the...
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...Your Seatbelt Stephanie Rivera Kaplan University Professor Pavesic CM220: College Composition II August 31, 2014 Buckling Up Your Seatbelt It just could not get any easier for many people, get in a vehicle and fasten their seatbelt. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2014), the use of the seatbelt can reduce the risk of a serious injury by 50%.” Yes, using a seatbelt can get annoying at times with it getting stuck, locked in place, or even it getting on a person’s nerves with it rubbing against their neck and ears .Many people may argue about their reasons for not wanting to wear a seatbelt and many have a doctor’s note giving them permission to not wear a seatbelt, but in the end a person is saving their own life by buckling up. With more car crashes happening in Texas, the use of a seatbelt might help reduce the number of deaths that arise from a car crash. Each and every state has different laws with regulations on the use and nonuse of seatbelts. It is stated in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, that currently thirty three states in the United States have primary seat belt laws (IIHS, 2014). ©Insurance Institute for Highway Safety What is a primary seatbelt law? A primary seatbelt laws allows a police to stop and ticket a motorist is the driver and passengers are not buckled up, National Conference of State Legislatures (2013). The state of Texas is one of the thirty three states that has mandatory seatbelt use...
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...The age of teenage drivers should be raised because most teenagers are not focused while driving. Teenagers are eligible to get their drivers license at the age of sixteen. The leading cause of death is teenagers are car-related accidents. The legal driving age should be raised because teenagers are too young to be on the road . Drivers between the ages of 16 through 19 are found to cause more crashes. Most teenage vehicle accidents occur due to lack of experience. In 2015, 2,333 teens in the United States were taking to the emergency departments for injuries suffered in-car crashes in 2014 (“CDC)”. The Streets will be protected if teenage drivers stay away from the roads. Responsibility is the key to become a safe driver most teenagers...
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...after the hospital and higher medical expenses (Boarini DJ, 2012). Society shares the burden with the families of the motorcyclist involved. Insurance cost increases and if the injured person does not have medical, those cost are passed on to the consumer. Before considering owning and riding a motorcycle, the risk associated with not wearing a helmet needs to be considered. The issue of whether or not to wear a helmet is extremely controversial. Some motorcyclists take an emotional stand, stating that to ride with or without a helmet is their choice. They go on to say that taking that choice away is taking away their freedom. Everyone makes choices and decisions every day. Deciding not to become another statistic by wearing a helmet is a good choice. Wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle should be as commonplace as fastening your seatbelt before you start your car. There are always advertisements reminding us to share the highways. We will always have the arrogant driver that doesn’t think the laws apply to him. Just like the car driver that chooses to not wear a seatbelt or texts while driving, some motorcyclists feel that they are invincible. We have all seen the motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic. Automobile drivers pass when they should not, speed and slow down for a stop sign instead of...
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...enforcing motorcyclists to wear helmets. Since this decision there has been a substantial increase in fatalities of the motorcyclists. Michigan no longer requires motorcyclists to wear protective head gear. The new law basically states that if a rider chooses to not wear a helmet you are to have a $20,000 insurance policy that is supposed to cover your medical and other costs, in the event you are injured in an accident without a helmet on. It has been proven time and time again that $20, 000 will not cover even one day in a critical care unit at a local hospital. Michael Dabbs, president of the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, said the $20,000 insurance coverage that riders are required to buy “would probably buy a part of the day in the ER and intensive care and not much more”. (Durkin, 2013) Motorcyclists feel that if they are required to wear a helmet it takes away their personal freedom. They feel it is a breach of their freedom and motorcyclists stand firm on this belief. Bikers think that if they choose not to wear a helmet, bikers should not have to. Bikers back up their passion about not wearing a helmet by stating that people can smoke drink, take drugs and etc. in America; so why not have the freedom of not wearing a helmet in America. “Helmets, some riders say, take away from the freedom they feel on their bike. The choice to protect their head with a helmet should be theirs, and the government should not “tell them what to do.” It is, after all, their...
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...Cell Phones Countless numbers of people are dying every day. These deaths are not limited to certain areas but are occurring nationally. They are pointless deaths because something could be done to prevent it from happening. Imagine if stopping one simple act could save countless lives. That simple act would be to stop being distracted by our cell phones when driving. Are we still willing to listen or do we discount or tune out the speaker and continue on about our business? The fact is that all states should have standardized laws banning cell phone use while driving because talking, texting, and reading texts distract drivers and lead to accidents and death. A brief history of the cell phone shows that “between 1998 and 2001, more than 100 million cell phones were sold. By the end of the 90's, more than 70 million users existed. At the end of 2000, there were over 100 million subscribers, so the 2000’s are the decade that cell phones became common” (Strayer and Cooper, 2009). It is also the decade that lives started to be lost due to cell phone use while driving. Today almost everyone has a cell phone. It is hard to imagine a time when we did not have cell phones available to us. Most people can barely remember having to use pay phones to make calls. Cell phones are helpful and convenient. The problem comes when people are so attached to them that they cannot function without it. The problem comes when people are driving killing machines and cannot...
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...Assignment 3: Helmets Save Lives: A Problem Exists Kelli L Adams ENG215231SC043-1148-001 Professor Priscilla Patten Strayer University October 29, 2014 Assignment 3: Helmets Save Lives: A Problem Exists Introduction Motorcycles are a way of life to some people. “Life” is the reason these cyclists and their passengers should be bound by the law to wear helmets. The lives of these cyclists are just as important as the lives of individuals who choose to ride on four wheels. Motorcycle helmets are the most important protective gear a cyclist could wear to enforce the safety of them and their passengers just like a seatbelt protect the lives of motor vehicle operators. Let’s help cyclists live by requiring them to wear the necessary protective gear when they are on the road. History of Universal Helmet Regulation: An Overview of the Problem The universal helmet legislation requires motorcycle riders of all ages to wear helmets. The passing of this legislation has been a prudent and contentious problem with sweeping public health consequences because motorcycle mortalities continue to escalate. As of 2008, only 20 states had implemented this helmet policy. (Homer & French, 2009) In the 1980s and early 1990s, deadly motorcycle crashes were on the decline but began to increase in the late 1990s. In 2006, the number of motorcycle riders killed was 11% of the total traffic deaths, which is the highest account ever. (Homer & French, 2009) Only 19 states...
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...Teenagers and Seatbelt Safety: Identifying the reasons Why 16 to 19 Old High-School Students Do Not Wear Seatbelt Melissa Simmons Research Methodology Prepared for Soheyl Amini PhD September 2012 Objectives The aims and objectives of this study include the following: (1) to identify the percentage of teenagers between the ages of 16 to 19 that do not wear seat belts when in a car; and (2) to identify the reasons why teenagers between the ages of 16 to 19 do not wear seat belts when in a car; (3) to identify whether there is a correlation between sex and seat belt compliance among teenagers; and (4) to determine whether attendance of a driver’s education class increases seat belt compliance among teenagers. Once this information is known, strategies for teaching teenagers about the laws of the state with regards to seatbelt use; and the critical importance of wearing seat belts can be developed. Research Questions The research questions for this study include the following: (1) What percent of teenagers between the ages of 16 to 19 do not wear belts when in a car? (2) What are the reasons why teenagers between the ages of 16 to 19 do not wear seat belts when in a car? (3) Is there a difference between male and female teenagers between the ages of 16 to 19 in terms of seat belt compliance? (4) Does formal driver education attendance increase seat belt compliancy among teenagers between the ages of 16 to 19? Purpose of Study The purpose of this...
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...research paper is to identify and correct causes of Toyota’s seat belt recall of 310,000 of its vehicles (Eisenstein, 2013). Seat belt failures contribute to loss of income as well as lives. If the issue is extrapolated to the economy, the loss of income and lives equate to a moderate yet significant portion of lost GDP. Thousands of people that contribute to the nations production essentially disappear effecting economic growth. Seat belt legislation is goverened by the states. Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia require seat belts for all passengers. All vehicles including buses are required to be fitted with what the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations (FMVSR) call a type 2 seat belt assembly consisting of a combination pelvic and upper torso restraint (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2013). Currently, states are expanding their seat-belt laws to cover rear-seat occupants (Copeland, 2010). It is prudent for any organization to understand the mechanics, processes, and products they use or create. If a product or process fails, it is important the same institution initiates sound research to generate dependable data derived by professionally conducted practices that can be used reliably for decision making (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). To do this, organizations must clearly define the purpose, provide their complete research, apply high ethical standards, make limiting factors known, furnish adequate analysis, present findings...
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...My Lack Of Restraint Between the years of 1990 and 2007 the National Center for Safety and Statistics estimates the number of lives saved by airbags during an automobile collision to be 23,334. Of those lives saved, 9,685 of these passengers were not wearing seatbelts during the accident. The same research also confirms that over the same time period 284 deaths were confirmed as airbag related fatalities. I was sixteen years old when my father gave me first car, only two weeks after I had taken my driving test and received a driver’s license. Elated, I could care less that it was a massive and somewhat elderly vehicle (two years older than I was) so I spent the first few days washing and waxing it to perfection. Three weeks of freedom unfortunately was all I was given because of a severe oil leak that put an end to my beautiful 1983 Lincoln continental. Life for me was back to the basics which meant riding a bicycle and bumming a ride home from friends when necessary. Working five days a week after school and sometimes weekends, I was determined to buy myself a new vehicle and regain my independence. On a very cold January afternoon I was facing the task of trekking home through the cold weather and snow after school, as my mother had dropped me off in the morning and told me I would have to fair for myself to get home as she had an afternoon meeting. On my way out the front doors of school I noticed a familiar face, my friend Jenny, getting into the drivers seat of...
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...Racing legally on a strip or risking others’ lives on the street, I prefer the strip. Some people may even ask why drag race, for the adrenaline rush. I never thought that people would be so desperate to drag race that they will be willing to risk their own life and others to do it on the streets. I will be willing to pay $20 to go drag race safely on the strip, and do it legally. I strongly believe in getting a fast car just for the enjoyment but if you drag race it illegally and get your license taken away for 30 days, and get a $100-500 fine just on the first offence, just think how bad the second offence would be. So $20 on a strip or $100-500 on street, common scene is going to the strip. If you go to the drag strip one of the perks is the grip or traction that your tires get. The reason why you get so much grip is because they get some bad tires and run them up and down the track until it is covered with hot rubber. Then they get a giant torch and heat up all the rubber that the tires left. Finally the track cools down a little bit and the heat from your tire grabs on to the heat of the rubber on the track and gives...
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...Drunk driving and devising ways to prevent it have been a long standing issue in our society, and rightfully so. However, there are individuals far worse dangerous to have behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. As reported in the American Journal of Public Health, a journal dedicated to the publication of original work in research, research methods, and program evaluation in the field of public health, Dr. Fernando Wilson and Jim Stimpson, in collaboration with the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), affirm that a person that is texting while driving is 23 times more likely to be involved in a car crash than a drunk driver (2010). Between 2005 and 2008, distracted driving fatalities increased more than 28% nationwide (Stimpson & Watson, 2010). Driving while texting has become an undeniable danger as these figures support. It is for this reason, as reported in the Dallas Morning News, that Texas lawmakers recently passed a bill, 124-16, to ban texting while driving (Hoppe, 2011). This bill has now gone on to seek much needed approval from the governor, Rick Perry. With so much support coming from the Texas House, it is expected for the bill to pass. However, one must keep in mind that Governor Perry has a penchant for vetoing bills, as was evident back in 2000 when he vetoed a record 83 bills in one day (CBSDFW.com, 2011). As of right now the state of Texas currently has a no-texting policy for licensed drivers under the age of 18 and anyone driving in a school zone (Hoppe...
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...away with much more, security tends to be forgotten in Grand Island and is not something that is thought of everyday as it should be. The security level is not where it should be and businesses and residents are losing more and more of their personal belongings on a daily basis. If this was more of a concern to business owners and residents and strictly enforced by local authority as well as the residents of Grand Island the crime rate would gradually start to decrease. Grand Island needs to make proper security not only to business owners , but also residents who are willing to make the changes that must be made to make Grand Island safer. Technology often makes possible what once was impossible. ( RIch, 2013 PG 796). Community members must do their part and look out for other residents instead of only about yourself, what you own, what you can gain from helping that person, would make a tremendous difference in our community to say the least. The idea behind impossibility structures that the government could use technology to make criminal conduct impossible is not new, but advances in technology are, such structures increasingly feasible.(Rich, 2013, PG.796-796).Realizing these crimes such as burglaries, theft from businesses/vehicles, murders, drugs, all of these crimes in a nutshell...
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...10 $ including GST the driver’s handbook In this book: • your road safety responsibilities • the road rules • drivers and licensing • vehicles and registration • fitness to drive self assessment. The information contained within this handbook has been prepared to help you become better informed about road safety, road rules, drivers and licensing and vehicle registration. It should not be taken as a precise interpretation of the law. It does not set out to be complete or a substitute for the legislation made by Parliament. Recent changes in laws may not be reflected in this publication. The Driver’s Handbook can be downloaded from mylicence.sa.gov.au If you require further information, please call 13 10 84 between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday. Information on the relevant South Australian legislation may be obtained from the following web site: www.legislation.sa.gov.au references • The Driving Companion (for Learner Drivers) • Australian Road Rules • Road Traffic Act (1961) and Regulations • Motor Vehicles Act (1959) and Regulations Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure. This work is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Department. First published in Australia 2000. MR200 September 2010. W E L C O M E Welcome to the Driver’s Handbook which is designed to support all road users and contains essential information and useful tips. ...
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... Silent Killers: Non-Conventional Factors That Affect Highway Safety Khris Downey Harding University Abstract At some point traffic safety will affect everyone. During his or her lifetime each individual will be a driver, passenger, or pedestrian. Modern day society is one dominated by the automobile. Motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death for people ages 1-34 (U.S. Department, 2002). In the year 2000 there were 41,611 traffic fatalities in the United States (U.S. Department, 2000) or approximately 2 fatalities every 20 minutes. During the time necessary to read this chapter two or three individuals will die in traffic related accidents. Research Design Over the past several decades, motor vehicle transportation has become the most popular mode of transportation in the United States. For the estimated 282,124,631 (U.S. Census Bureau) people living in the United States there are 221, 475, 173 registered vehicles (National Highway), that is 78.5 registered vehicles per 100 people. It is no wonder traffic safety is a growing concern throughout the United States. Americans are becoming increasingly sensitive to the dangers associated with motor vehicles. Automobile safety features are top considerations for many American automobile buyers. In a recent national survey (Home and Away) 83% of automobile buyers listed safety features as one of their top three considerations when purchasing...
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