Seatbelt Laws and Fines - And My Right to Be Stupid

I've been thinking about this one for a while, and I hope to hash it out in a way that is understandable.

Seat belt laws bug me. Let me explain.

In Ontario, as of December 1, 2006, there was a new law:

"every person travelling in a motor vehicle must wear a seat belt or use a child safety seat."

Now, in and of itself this law would be fine, I guess. According to statistics, wearing a seat belt increases your chances of surviving a car accident. Another website states that 63% of people killed in car accidents were not wearing seat belts. So, it just seems logical to put your seat belt on when you're on the road - if you've noticed all of our posts under the "road rage" tag, you'll notice that we believe people on the highways are generally idiots. I don't have a website for the statistical average of idiots on the road, but I'm pretty sure it would be above 50%. Just saying. Knowing the high percentage of idiocy on the highways leads me to be more careful.

So, I agree that it's smart to wear a seatbelt.

But here's the part that bugs me. The MTO website goes on to state:

"The penalty for seat belt infractions is a fine between $60 and $500. Convicted offenders will receive two demerit points."

I don't believe it's right for the government to be able to fine me and give me demerit points for my own decision to put my life at risk. If I want to be an idiot and go without wearing my seat belt, who are they to fine me for it?

Warn me? Sure. Frown upon me? Okay! But fine me?

Let's just look at this for a second. I'm going to use another example of personal choices.

I could go buy 200 Twinkies and gorge myself on them. I could do this daily, and there would be no fine. Why? Because it would be my choice - although the world will tell you that obesity is a risk all on its own.

23.1% of Canadians are obese.

"In 2000, poor diet including obesity and physical inactivity caused 400,000 U.S. deaths..."

Just pause for a second and look at that number. 400,000 deaths were caused by obesity and physical inactivity. Now look at these statistics, from the same year (2000):

"41,821 people were killed in auto accidents in 2000 based on data collected by the Federal Highway Administration."

So that's just a little over a tenth, and don't forget that only 63% of those deaths relating to car accidents were because the people were not wearing seat belts. Someone else can do the math for that.

What this boils down to is an infringement on my rights. If I have a right to be obese if I want to, and to be physically inactive if I want to, I should have a right to go without a seat belt if I want to.

The government has every right to fine me if I'm speeding, or driving erratically. This sort of thing puts other people in danger. But to fine me for a personal choice, a choice which leaves only me and me alone in any sort of danger, is ridiculous.

Now, don't forget to buckle up. ;p

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo.

It bugs me.

I drove innocently down my road one night in February almost three years ago. Some old guy, not paying attention, turned right onto the road on which I was travelling. Instead of turning into his own lane, he turned into MY lane and hit me, head on.

It messed up my life.

Sleepless nights. Lots of pain. Ongoing pain in the neck, literally. Grouchiness, from the pain. Feeling like a failure, because I couldn't do my ordinary work.

What bugs me is that after waiting nearly two years to see if the pain would go away, then finally coming to the decision that no, it wasn't going away, and was something I would have to deal with for the rest of my life, so yes, I would see a lawyer...what bugs me the most is that they don't get it. It's all about loss of income from my JOB. But there's no thought of compensation for the way the accident messed up my LIFE.

I am more than my temporary, part-time, two-year job.

I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom. That has been my life since my firstborn entered the world in 1975. OVER THIRTY YEARS, people. And that is what is important to me. And that is what has been messed up, big time.

I think I need to contact the Human Rights Commission. Don't I have the right to value my life at home? After all, it's been my life's work. And the fact that it has been messed up to the point where I haven't done a good job of teaching my kids or maintaining my home since the accident should matter.

It matters to ME.