Do Seat Belt Save Lives? Should the Government Demand Use?

Wearing seat belts are the new law in IL for back seat passengers.  Pat Quinn signed legislation last month enforcing mandatory requirements for back seat passengers to be strapped in or be ticketed.  However, many residents are upset because they, or a loved one, has been saved in a car accident by NOT wearing a seat belt.  Although we do not disagree that seat belts save lives, we disagree that the government needs to involve themselves in personal decisions of individual choice.  A law that is enacted to only harm themselves and not others, is a law that might not be right to enforce.

on http://www.edgarsnyder.com/news/seatbelts/seat-belts-statistics.html, it states "Statistics show that seat belts do save lives. When used correctly, wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45%, and risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50%. For those riding in the rear of vans and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) during a car crash, rear seat belts are 73% better at preventing fatalities. Keep in mind that victims are not properly restrained in more than one-half of all fatal car accidents. Also, children are likely to be buckled 92% of the time when adults in the car use seat belts, as opposed to 72% of the time when adults are not using them."

Some stories state that seat belt use actually cost lives.  Here are two stories...

"I had a friend of mine that was in a Jeep that rolled over off the highway down an embankment. She couldn't get out in time before it burst into flames because of her seat belt. People reported hearing her screaming as she burned to death."

"I had a similar one when I was in high school. I was the passenger in a Ford Mustang with bucket seats. We got T-boned on my side by another car at about 55 mph. The impact threw me into the back seat (somehow, that part I don't remember) and when it was over, I had no injuries, not even a cut. When I saw the car the next day, the passenger door had compressed the seat into about 3-4 inches of space. A seat belt would have been bad news on that day. "

There are even web sites against over regulation of governments.  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2210488199 Governments are created to safeguard their citizens from abuse at the hands of other citizens, corporations, aliens and foreign governments. They are not created to save us from ourselves.

The seat belt law represents an unacceptable level of government interference in our daily lives. The collective power of your neighbors determines how you should take care of yourself and then slaps you with fines if you decide to take your own life into your own hands.

So where do you stand?