You can see the signs as you go down the road. "Click it or Ticket." Maybe, at one time or another, you have been driving down the road and passed a police officer, just to quickly reach up and put your seat belt on before he notices. Maybe you have been driving and quickly unbuckled to grab something out of the range within your seat belt's range. If you're like me, you have probably gotten irritated with the belt as it rubbed unpleasantly against your shoulder and neck. For convenience and comfort, you might have slipped the strap off your shoulder and down to a more comfortable position.
To give you a little history, the first seat belts were seen in the 1930's. Several physicians started putting in the lap belts, otherwise known as two-point seat belts, into cars and urged the motor companies to do the same thing. By the late 1950's, three-point seat belts, which are what we use today, were introduced into cars.
From the time I was young, I always put my seat belt on. No questions asked, no hesitation. I always just put the it on. Whenever I was in the car with someone who wouldn't put theirs on, I would insist heavily to the point of becoming annoying and aggravating. I never felt remorse for it, because they always put it on. Just the other day, I was in the car with someone. They questioned if it was really necessary to put their seat belt on. I told them that it was the rule of the vehicle and that it was also a law. I also told that person that the car didn't move unless all seat belts were fastened.
So why am I pushing the limits and writing an article about seat belts? I seem to have it completely down, and those who have ever been in the car with me know my stance on it. Why go the extra distance and write about it?
A few days ago, I was with my mother in the car by my university. I had accompanied her on a small road trip to go talk to some teens up at a summer camp. On our way home, we approached a green light. My mother was driving and I was in the passenger seat. As she came to the green light, an ambulance with the lights and sirens pulled into our lane heading the wrong direction to avoid traffic at the light. My mother saw it coming and stopped to let it pass. The person behind us did not stop. We were rear ended while stopped by a girl going 25-35 MPH. I don't really remember everything that happened. I just remember hearing a loud crash and feeling pain, while yelling in confusion as to what just happened. I remember a lot of details, even though they are scrambled. I remember my mom yelling at me to call 911 while I was sobbing, trying to find my phone. I remember having to grab my mom's hand, telling her to stay in the car with her seat belt on until the police arrived.
No one was seriously injured in the crash. Thankfully, everyone was wearing their seat belts. Although, I can still feel the jolt from being hit when I sit in a car now. I can still feel on my collarbone where the seat belt restrained me from flying out the windshield. I can still feel the pain in my hips from where my seat belt held me in place. But the beauty of that is in how everyone involved in the crash was not majorly injured. The pain will subside soon. My mom, the girl who hit us, and myself are all alive and well, because we had our seat belts on.
The moral of my story is pretty clear and a little plain. I may have basically preached it for years, but I now have firsthand evidence as to why I would tell people to fasten up. Seat belts do save lives. They may cause pain or even inconvenience for a while, but in the long run, they may just save your life or save you from a world of intense pain. Why would you ever want to jeopardize that?
