Seat Belt Laws

I appreciate your response to my argument. "In response to my arguer, you are missing the point. It doesn't matter if driving w/o your seatbelt can cause you to get hurt and not die, or harm other people in the car. I'm saying that it should not be enforced." The fact it does affect those passengers in the vehicle as well as yourself, proves that other lives are being put in danger. If you are the driver of a vehicle and you have a passenger along for the ride, his/her life is directly your responsibility. You are responsible for this person's life, just as you are responsible for your life. This brings me to my next point... "It should definetely be recommended by athorities and everyone should wear them, but if they don't that should be their own fault if they get hurt in an accident." It IS recommended by authorities. It is also recommended by DPS, as evidence with all the radio and television commercials telling us to "click it or ticket." Police officers are sworn to serve and protect their citizens and part of serving and protecting includes issuing citations to those who do not obey the laws. So this fact alone makes it not "ridiculous." Wearing seat belts saves lives. Not just your own, but also your passenger's lives. If a passenger is not wearing their seat belt, the driver of that vehicle should also be responsible and should also take the citation if issued one. http://www.cdc.gov... "It's not like DUI where you can cause damage to others on the road." The issue isn't whether it causes damage to others on the road, but whether it is ridiculous for police officers to issue tickets to persons not wearing seat belts. And the fact that not wearing a seat belt while operating a motor vehicle is illegal, it most certainly is NOT ridiculous. "It's like getting fined for having annonymous unprotected sex, it's dangerous because you can very likely get a sometimes deadly STD but that don't mean you can go around fining people for banging at their own consent." Having unprotected sex is not illegal, you're correct on that. However, this isn't even a good argument for comparison. Operating a vehicle is a privilege we are given if we pass the tests and are old enough. There are no tests to pass to engage in sexual contact. The highways and city roads are regulated by the government, whether it be the federal government, state government, or city. They set the rules and they make sure the rules and laws are being followed. A police officer's job is to make sure these laws are being adhered to. Therefore, it is not ridiculous for them to issue a ticket if one of these laws are being broken, including not wearing a seat belt. There are many laws that are in place that don't necessarily save live directly or indirectly. Jaywalking is illegal and it only effects the person involved. No one else's life is in danger. Yet this law is to help protect someone from being hit by a vehicle. It's against the law to run naked in public. No one's life is in danger, but the law is necessary, because children may be present. You made the point that cops should just give you a warning and then it should be up to the individual if they want to follow the warning or not. If a law is being broken and lives are in danger, a warning is not enough.