Poll: Do You Wear Your Seat Belt?

I answered a similar question on here a few weeks ago so I'm reposting my original answer...

My husband is a firefighter, and I cannot tell you the number of times he has come home depressed because he could not save the life of someone who was not restrained in a vehicle. The public safety workers who have to rescue and try to save people who don't wear their seat belts aren't made of stone - they grieve for those losses too. And what makes it so bad is that those deaths are completely unnecessary. So when someone doesn't want to wear their seatbelt, I make them think about my husband pulling a dead child out of a car because their parents didn't make them wear their seatbelt. How selfish of them.

Always,

...................even when i'm almost 10 months pregnant and getting nauseous from it.

Yes and I force my passemgers too as well. I don't need a 200 oound weapon landing on me or my kids in a collision.

HELL YES!

My car has an annoying semsor that goes off if you DON'T buckle up.

I feel WEIRD if I DON'T have my seat beat on. Even my four year old says "buckle me IN mom!" (He has NO patience--my little safety monitor...)

Oh, 8kidsdad, nothing you could come up with is a valid reason to not wear a seat belt. The wife in your story could have easily died as hundred do who are thrown from cars. Let's not forget how you think child safety seats are a joke too. If you want to become a statistic, that's your choice, but if you get pulled over, you deserve it.

It's always ignorance and laziness. Not one person is bullet proof. My nephew's tennis partner fell asleep driving his truck yesterday. It rolled and he survived with minimal injuries BECAUSE he was wearing his seat belt. My friend's sister died on Wednesday because she was NOT wearing her seatbelt. Her passenger was thrown from the car, is in the hospital and she may not live.

Buckle up, folks! It's not a stupid law, it's a life saving one!

Edit* After posting this today, I read this article on our local news website. There is another article on the same site about a 30 year old mother who was partially ejected from the car and died while her 3 children who were with her were buckled in.
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/08/08/43-die-on-minnes...

Edit again...... Miss Queen of the Castle, I just read your link and realized that you posted the same article that I was talking about in my first edit. Thanks for posting all of this. It's a great reminder. My heart breaks for those 3 little kids.

Yes, I always wear my seatbelt, like you, no matter the distance. My mom & sister just recently made fun of me because I would buckle up to drive across a parking lot, but accidents happen all the time, anywhere & it's just so ingrained in me that it's the first thing I do after putting down my purse.

@ 8kidsdad-- Those are the lousiest excuses I've ever heard. Studies are done annually & it's been proven time & time again that the good outweighs the bad as far as wearing a seat belt goes. Oh, and just because people "used to" not take any sort of safety precautions?? Seriously?? How many more cars are on the roads today? What do you suppose the reasons are for there being the laws we currently have? About a zillion death-related accidents, that's why.

Yes! I didn't know there were still people who didn't...

Always. I always wear my seat belt.

People have as many excuses for NOT wearing them as there are people: uncomfortable, it won't happen to me, I never wore them growing up-why start now, too tight, can't move enough to get my phone out of my purse, etc., etc., etc.!

Yes I do.

That is terrible news...I'm so sorry to hear that.

Yes, and I have everyone buckle up as I also do not want to be killed by a projectile.

I always wear a seat belt, and no matter who gets in my car, I won't put it in drive until ALL are buckled!
I have a SIL and BIL who both work for the police department. My BIL was an officer and then a detective, ne NEVER EVER wore a seat belt, he said officers and mail men were "exceptions" to the seatbelt rule. His wife (who works for the same department) doesn't wear her belt regularly either. I don't know why someone wouldn't, it takes two seconds and can save your life!

I always wear mine. My husband totally forgets to put his on, and just got pulled by a cop 2 months ago and LET OFF from the ticket. I secretly wish he had to fork over the $$ for a ticket, because he still is not wearing his unless me or the kids are in the car with him to remind him. It makes me furious! I just might show him your post... Thanks!

Yes always. It's a big deal in our family. My sis is a cancer survivor and wearing a seatbelt was a life changing decision for her. She was so depressed and felt so hopeless at the diagnosis, she refused to wear it and say "Why even bother?"

Her kids and her husband would remind her in the car to "Choose Life" and she would put on her seatbelt. They still say "choose life" when they remind anyone to put on their seatbelts.

EVERY time. And if ANYONE in the car is not wearing one? Then the car doesn't move. Period.

yes, been rear-ended 3 times! & those seatbelts saved our lives.

Always always... there are so many more accidents that result in fatalities of people who did NOT wear their seat belts than people who do. That's just not even an argument. To be honest, I think if you have kids and you choose to not wear a seatbelt you're being irresponsible. It's like russian roulette every time you get into a car.

I always wear my seat belt and don't move until everyone in the car is belted in. I'm alive today because I was wearing a seat belt when a drunk crossed the center line and hit my car head on while speeding.

later: I used to let adults decide for themselves but no longer do that. It's my car and my responsibility to see that everyone is safe. If I didn't insist that they wear their seat belt and there was an accident I'd feel really bad if a seat belt would've prevented a serious injury.

Yes always. When I was 17 I was in a car accident and a seatbelt probably saved my life. I walked away from it with minor injuries. I dont understand people who dont wear it. Sure its not comfortable but its so worth it

Yes, always. If I get more than 1/2 way down the street without it, my son calls me out on it!

I always wear mine, I make my kids wear theirs. Even my kids that now drive continue to wear them even though mom is not there to remind.

I had an idiot woman I used to work with who went around telling everyone that her son not wearing his seat belt saved him injury. The idiot lost control of his car and was thrown from it. He was lucky he didn't hit anything and lived. His car continued and hit a tree. Because of the speed of impact the seat belt would have caused him a broken shoulder. If he had hit the tree over a little more he would be dead. Of course this ignores the fact that had he had his seat belt on he would have had control of the car, put on the brakes and steer around the tree! :( She didn't like me pointing that out. :-/

I don't even want to read peoples responses because if any of them say they don't, or don't make their kids wear them, then I will just go off. I'm an insurance agent so this is a sore subject with me and in fact, becasue I saw so many moms driving their kids to my kids schools without seatbelts, I paid $200 to have car saftey info printed on the entire back of my car hoping they would "get it". That being said, I always wear my selt belts as do my kids. They are 15, 11 and 8 and I don't even have to remind them, they do it as a habit thank God.

Absolutely wear it every time!! Saved me from going through the windshield in accidents TWICE! I'm 45, when I was growing up I remember standing up in the back seat, ughhhh!

Even if they made it legal in California tomorrow to not wear a seat belt, I still would. "Big Brother" is great in this situation. 8kidsdad: you can always see the CHP on the 10 freeway?? It's just a matter of time. You also claimed that your shoulder hurt when you wear it and complained when you are a passenger as well. Are both shoulders jacked up? Hopefully you didn't pass this irresponsible thinking to your children and grandchildren.

Always! I have a very dear friend who would not be here today if he wasn't wearing his seat belt during his accident. I have another friend who is not here today because she wasn't wearing hers. There is no excuse to not wear it!

Absolutely.... EVERYONE in my car must be buckled in......

Always.

Both of our vehicles beep until we put it on. LOVE that feature. But, I have yet to be the driver and hear mine beep, although I will notice as a passenger it is less habit and it will beep at me sometimes when I sit in the passenger seat.

She could have been busy, distracted, close to her destination - who knows. So sad.

I don't wear a seat belt unless I see a cop that might be looking.

I had a friend whose aunt and uncle were riding in his pickup. He was wearing his seat belt, she was not. He rear ended a semi-trailer carrying rebar. She was thrown from the vehicle and suffered lots of cuts and scratches. He was fastened in and looked like a human shikabob with a bundle of rebar running through his chest. Had she been wearing her seat belt she would have been skewered too.

Sometimes seat belts save lives and sometimes they cost lives. I have seen cars where the occupants were burned alive because they couldn't undo their seat belts and get out. I can't imagine how horrible it would be to hear a child bucked in to a car safety seat screaming to get out until the car's fire silences the child's screams. I could tell you other stories too, but I don't want to gross you out.

My grand dad and grand ma on my dad's side lived to be in their late 60's and never wore a seat belt. My grand ma on my mom's side never wore a seat belt and lived to be 81. My dad lived to be 80, never wore a seat belt, unless a cop told him to. My mom lived to be 76 and never wore a seat belt except when she was forced to.

To me, this is just BIG BROTHER watching. I feel I should be able to take my kids on a hay ride by putting hay bales in the bed of my truck. I feel I should be able to decide if I wear a seat belt or not. I feel I should be able to recite the pledge of allegience in a public building. And there are lots of other things . . .

@ Melissa J and others that say, "Its the law" . . . Its the law to be honest when reporting your income taxes, it was a law in Missouri until the bicentennial that the state had a bounty on coyotes, cougars AND Mormons(!). The Governor made a big deal out of recinding the 100+ year old law. Did any of you know police officers are told NOT to wear seat belts on patrol? To me its an issue of personal freedom. I vote. How many of you vote in every election?

Good luck to you and yours.

Most definitely everyone in our family wears seatbelts! My husband is a paramedic and seatbelts have saved/do save soooo many lives...especially on the rollover accidents! There was just a girl here who had her window down and wasn't buckled in and died in an accident...the sad thing is that the car wasn't bad at all and she would have most definitely lived if she had been buckled in. :(

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Most definitely everyone in our family wears seatbelts! My husband is a paramedic and seatbelts have saved/do save soooo many lives...especially on the rollover accidents! There was just a girl here who had her window down and wasn't buckled in and died in an accident...the sad thing is that the car wasn't bad at all and she would have most definitely lived if she had been buckled in. :(

Always, always, always.

Yes, like TwinMama. I was t-boned at 17 when I slid out infront of another car. The seatbelt kept me from getting any injuries. I also make sure my kids are always properly buckled up and make them stay in safety seats longer than most parents.

Always!!! It's actually so automatic I don't even think about it. I put it on even if I'm driving from one side of the parking lot to the other.

Always. At this point, it actually feels strange to me if I don't have it on! So sorry to hear about your brother's friend! That is terribly sad!

I always wear mine. I have to admit it was hard for me to make the transition tho. The irritating beep really helped heal me of that.

Always! And when my husband occassionally sits in the back seat with my son I won't go anywhere until he puts it on despite protests (for some reason he thinks it's not necessary for adults in back seats which I strongly disagree)

Yes I do and I require everyone and anyone riding in my car to wear their seatbelt, I even have a seatbelt adapter for the dog.

Yep, we always wear it.
No matter what seat in the van we are sitting in.

I always do - even if I am just backing my car out of the driveway. Why on earth wouldn't you. So sorry. But just today, MIL said ' why don't you just put DS in the car without his seat (he is 5-1/2) since we are only driving a few blocks back from the swimming pool. Um, no. And I do keep a knife and utility knife in the glove compartment for the below situation.

Always.
Mine saved my life in a rollover.

Yes, I always wear one.

However, my brother's friend almost died because of a seat belt. He was run off the road into a canal (in FL). When the seat belt was underwater, he was unable to get it unbuckled.

Yes, I usually always wear my seatbelt. It's a good habit I developed when I was a kid. I may not always wear it when I'm taking the trash out or getting the mail at the apartment, but sometimes I hop in & put it on without thinking anyways.

My daughter (5 years old) still sits in a car seat with a 5 point harness. She has known for years that she MUST wear her harness. I don't try to scare her or anything, but simply tell her that we must wear our seatbelts so that we do not fall out of our seats if something hits us. She will usually remind me to tighten her harness if I forget!

All of my passengers are always required to wear their seatbelts as well.

I don't care what people did 50 years ago. Pretty sure there are more drivers on the roads these days, making it even more dangerous. As well as more ignorant drivers who don't pay attention... ugh

I ALWAYs wear my seatbelt. No matter the distance--safety first!!!

Yes but for some reason , when I sit in the backseat ( w/c is hardly ever) , it is not automatic and most times I forget.*** wanted to add , I never forget about the kids safety in the backseat, just my own.***

I do wear it now, since my daughter was born. I'm not allowed to die until she is 18 and won't be shipped to her dads.

Most people just don't take the extra few seconds to do it, from experience lol. With adults they can choose (in my opinion, I know laws say different), but I've talked to a mom in the parking lot before because her 6 yr old daughter didn't have a seatbelt on while they were coming to the store across the parking lot.

Yes, I was bad about not wearing it when I was younger, but after having my daughter I wear it all the time now. In fact a couple days ago, I was driving and I kept thinking..something is wrong...why do I feel like something is wrong?... After a few minutes I realized I hadn't buckled up! LOL

Yes, every single time. I'll pull into my driveway, get out to get the mail from the mailbox, get back in my car and put on my seatbelt to drive the final 30 feet into my garage. Habit, I guess... My kids are the same way. Seatbelt always - it's so easy, why not do it?

Yes, and at the age of 34 I am an expert at unfastening my seat belt. If an emergency came along and I became so flustered I couldn't undo my seatbelt, chances are I probably wouldn't fare too well anyway.

Princess Diana was not wearing her seatbelt. It is commonly accepted she would have survived the crash had she buckled up.

As far as being fortunate enough to be thrown from the vehicle and avoid larger injury..... well, that's just moronic. It's like saying I'm going going to worry about saving money for retirement because I play the lottery. Safety is a game of statistics and probabilities. Playing the long odds is just not safe. And the reason there are laws are multifaceted, but boil down to it not being about an individual's preference (for not wrinkling their clothes or whatever) in favor of the common good. You get thrown from your car in a spin and the car moves on to hit a kid..... that child died because you weren't wearing your seatbelt. Buckle up. The life you save may not even be your own.

I'm always buckled up and I insist that anyone who rides in my car is also, but I have a problem ...

Last school year I ended up taking one of my sons friends (a few houses down) to school everyday. They loved riding to and from school together, but he never wanted to wear a seatbelt (my son is still in a carseat). He said his dad didn't make him wear one and I wasn't going to make him wear one either. When I went to talk to his dad about it, we had a huge argument and he stopped speaking to me ... told all of our other neighbors that I was overprotective. Now the kids don't play with each other anymore. That part makes me sad.

I never used too. I felt very uncomfortable wearing it. It would either cut into my neck or was too tight. But since my 3 yr old started to talk I started to wear it. I wanted to be a good roll model for her. Now that she is in a booster seat she always reminds us to clip her in. When I didn't wear the belt she would undo her harness. So now that she sees mommy wearing hers she always leaves her's on now.
I am 31 weeks with our second and the seatbelt hurts me. But I still wear it although I do make it a little looser or I hold it so that it doesn't cut into my stomach. I am short and it never went across my lap. It's worse in my husbands truck.

Yes, I wear it.

I am part of the first generation for whom it was never legal to be unbuckled. Growing up I hated wearing it, mostly because usually nobody else in the car had to or did. Every time I approached old enough to go without it the age went up which made me really mad of course! I swore I would stop wearing it when I became adult.

Then, when I was learning to drive I got to see first hand how easy it is for something to go wrong. I haven't balked at putting my belt on since.

ALWAYS. Every time. My daughter thinks the car can't move unless everyone in the car is buckled up. :)

Without fail, every time I am in the car, I always wear my seatbelt.

Always! I check and doublecheck that my kids are, too.

I know at least three people who would be dead today if they had not been wearing seatbelts in the wrecks they were involved in. One was my niece. Although there are some cases like the one the dad mentioned, I still feel we are much more likely to survive WITH one on than without.

I wear my seatbelt always when Im driving. However, when my husband is driving and I am in the passengers seat, I sometimes do not. I know I should, but sometimes i dont when hes driving. Growing up, my parents never made us wear our seatbelt, so like 9 times out of 10 I didnt growing up. No one in my family wears their seatbelt ever. My husband always does and so does my son. My husband is the reason why I started wearing my seatbelt again.

yes I do. I always see police officers talking on their phones when they are the ones who should be setting a good example. I don't understand why it isn't a serious law to talk while driving. Now people think it's ok to text because they can have that phone in their hands.

I did not always wear my seatbelt. I was born in 1972 and it was not something that was done. After I started driving, I still didn't because it was not something I had done nor did anyone in my family. Once I had my son, he was ALWAYS in a carseat. When I started dating my husband, he insisted on seatbelts (he had a jeep). Since then, I have always worn my seatbelt. It just makes sense.

Yes you can still be injured or killed but the probability is substantially lower. We come up on a fatality seconds after it happened on Christmas Eve. Two kids and their parents, both parents were thrown from the vehicle but the kids were in carseats. Kids were fine, dad was killed, mom was seriously injured and paralyzed. The father was buried on New Years Eve. The holidays will never be the same for them.

I live in one of the only states, (maybe THE only state now, I'm not certain) that does NOT require seat belts unless your under 18. I still wear mine every time I am in a moving vehicle without fail. I used to only wear it on the highway or if it was snowing, but after getting in a roll-over one day, with my best friend and our 3 kids in the car, I wear it all of the time. We all do. The only reason we had them on that day was because we were getting on the highway. We all walked away without any injuries. That would not have been the case without seat belts.

I am alive because of my seat belt! I am on my 25th year of being here thanks to one. I never would have seen the other side of 16 after being T-boned, going airborne and then crashing head on into a huge concrete sign post. I'm so thankful I didn't have time to pick up a friend that day because he would have been killed regardless. NO ONE rides in my car without one -like it or not!

I know people who don't and it drives me crazy. Usually I get the excuse that it's better to be thrown from a car than squashed in one.

I certainly DO buckle up and my car doesn't move til everyone is buckled up properly. No shoulder belts behind backs. So children in the wrong carseat.

I ALWAYS do, and so do my children.

A lady in my church always wore her seatbelt, but for some reason ONE day she forgot, and her hubby fell asleep while they were driving to a family reunion, and she was flung out of the car, broke her neck, and died instantly. Awful story. I hate things like this...that poor family!

Always, I have seen a wreck that killed one man and a second was air lifted out with little chance. The sad part was had they had on seatbelts they may have walked away. The truck flipped several times, but landed right side up with barely a dent other than the windshield they went through and the radio was still playing. It was really sad to witness and a very good reminder why seat belts are so important. Seat belts also saved my inlaws a few years ago when they went off the road in a bad accident

Yes! My first and very severe accident that I was in in 2008 happened less then 1/8th of a mile from home. Seatbelt is always on. I can't imagine what would have happened to me if I had not been wearing one or if my daughter 3 yrs old at time time in the car had not been wearing one. 1/8th of a mile from my home and it wasn't my fault...You never, ever know

How sad for that family :-(
I ALWAYS 100% whether I'm a driver or passenger wear my seat belt!!! Hubs is a paramedic firefighter and has SEEN so much first hand it is Horrifying! It takes all of 2 seconds to buckle-up!
It is the LAW in MASS......... CLICK IT OR TICKET

So sorry! How sad. I ALWAYS wear my seat belt. It's so automatic that I don't even think I'd know how to drive without it - haha! Not to mention the incessant beeping that occurs if you don't have it on...

In my immediate family, we always wear them. I do not move the car until everyone is buckled. When I was growing up, NO ONE wore seat belts. Even though my parents were in a minor accident holding me in their lap in the front seat and I nearly went through the windshield, still no one ever wore seat belts. It just wasn't done. Maybe it was a small town thing. My sister and I sat in the back seat. We never even knew the back seats HAD seat belts. They were permanently stuffed into the seat cushion behind us. When I started driver's training, we watched some pretty violent car accident movies. A lot of them. You could hear the car crashes daily also in the study hall in the next room too. And the driver's ed teacher was like a deadly serious drill sergeant. I've always been a cautious person, and this class really made a huge impact on me. I started buckling up every time as a teenager. I had to beg my Mom to buckle up, and half the time she would only do it to humor me, and half the time she refused "if she wasn't going on the freeway" After a few years though, she got in the habit too. Probably to set a good example for us kids. And it was becoming more socially unacceptable to not buckle up. Still, I notice she sometimes "forgets" when we go out on short trips, until I remind her. I still remember my parents thinking what was all the fuss about, and was it really necessary to move a car seat for my baby when driving a short distance across their small town, and my how times have changed. Yes, I believe we have changed for the better, as far as car safety is concerned. I do not know ANYONE who doesn't use their seatbelts regularly today.

Always!! I went through the windshield in an accident when I was ten. I have never gotten in a car without one on since...I was not wearing one the day of the accident. I was sick and my mom was driving me home from the pediatrician.

Always wear mine, and so do my little ones.
Some people, particularly teens and young adults, think they are immortal and see no need to buckle up, nothing's gonna happen to them! Some people don't want their clothes wrinkled. Some people don't want to take 2 seconds to pull it up, over and click it.

My dad had a good way to teach my daughter when she was little that we wear seat belts because otherwise "the car won't start" ; ) Too bad that's not the case...

And thanks for the link, I'm posting it on FB.

Before I even start the car it goes on.

I always wonder also why it's so hard for people to put on their seat belts even if it's the law!! I also see people all the time driving with seat belts but then the kids are in the back seat bouncing around, I'm like WTH? You can p ut your belt on but not your kids?
I also have a friend, her husband is NYPD, and she doesn't wear her seat belt!! Then on top of that she wasn't even putting her 4 year old in a booster seat! Hellooooo? I don't understand, but i gave her my 2 cents and now that they are older, believe they all wear their sea belts.
Very sad when you hear stories like the one about or brothers friend. Really was preventable!

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I always wonder also why it's so hard for people to put on their seat belts even if it's the law!! I also see people all the time driving with seat belts but then the kids are in the back seat bouncing around, I'm like WTH? You can p ut your belt on but not your kids?
I also have a friend, her husband is NYPD, and she doesn't wear her seat belt!! Then on top of that she wasn't even putting her 4 year old in a booster seat! Hellooooo? I don't understand, but i gave her my 2 cents and now that they are older, believe they all wear their sea belts.
Very sad when you hear stories like the one about or brothers friend. Really was preventable!

That's so sad about your brother's friend's wife and kids. I always, always, always wear my seatbelt! I won't even drive down the street or across a parking lot without my seatbelt on. I remember when I started driving I refused to allow anyone to ride in my car without their seatbelt on too (they automatically know now). Over the years I've know a few people who absolutely refuse to wear a seatbelt and their excuse is that they are afraid that they will be trapped in their car if they get into an accident. Pretty stupid excuse if you ask me. I think your chances of getting hurt and not surviving are a lot higher if you are not wearing your seatbelt. I've been in a few car accidents and I'm pretty sure I would have been thrown from the car in the worst one if I had not been wearing my seatbelt. I also probably helped save my girlfriend, who was driving in that accident, because she never wore her seatbelt and when we got in the car I said, "lets wear our seatbelts" so she agreed to put hers on. We were both hurt and ended up in an ambulance but we would have been hurt much worse without our seatbelts.

Yep, everyday no matter where I am in the car: driving, front seat, back seat, wherever. There was a local police officer killed in a car accident. His wife watched as his car lost control (she was following behind him) and his body was thrown from the car. He was not wearing his seat belt! It doesn't lessen the tragedy, but come on!!! It's against the law in IL, plus it's just plain stupid not to, especially when you have a family that would miss you terribly if something happened.

Isn't it the law in every state but NH? That's what I thought anyway.
I am in NH and I still wear my seatbelt. it is just automatic and something I don't even think about. I always have.

Always. I'm always buckled and the kids are too (same thing with Husband - he always wears a seat belt).

As to why some adults do not wear seat belts, I think that some are used to not wearing them or don't like them or just want to rebel.

My brother is a police officer and he never wears his seat belt.

What a horrible thing for that girl to have to live with for the rest of her life, that her not paying attention cost a mother her life.

I always wear my seat belt. I think it makes me feel more secure and I am just not comfortable unless I have it on. I have several friends who refuse to wear them in my car and I still take them with me occasionally.

I knew a girl/young adult who had been out to a local club, had a few drinks, got behind the wheel, didn't have on seat belts, her best friend didn't either. They ran off the road in a one car accident and the best friends body kept the driver from being killed, it cushioned her body in the impact. She had extreme guilt because she basically killed her best friend by driving in the first place but then also by her friends body being between the car and her. She crushed her best friend...it is the saddest thing I can imagine.

yup, always - even if I'm just moving a car 3 feet in the driveway. If the engine is running, the belt is on - ditto for my kids - it feels weird even if I start the ignition before I've buckled!

Absolutely! My kids always rode in their car seats and now buckle up as well. We have told them that if we see, hear or they get stopped and aren't wearing them, we will sell their cars. We aren't kidding either!

Always buckled. I like Christine J.'s safety monitor, her little 4 year old boy. We've got one in our family too, our almost 7 year old girl. She never has to worry about me, but she keeps her father in check.
We hear "Daddy! Seatbelt!!" all the time.

Yes, I wear it where ever I go.

I do 99% of the time*

When have I taken it off? During the very very rare times when kiddo has needed my help in the back seat and I'm a passenger (choking, or unclipping himself, etc. when he was little... when he dropped his inhaler under the seat during an asthma attack just a week ago while my mom was driving.)

Mom instinct just kicked into overdrive each time I've seen him in immediate danger. It's outta my seatbelt and in the back while the driver pulls over to the side of the road. Yes. If we'd been hit, I'd probably have died. And I don't care. As a driver it's the dive to the side of the road. Maybe half a dozen to a dozen times in 9 years. ANY of those times I could have been unlucky.

* This is in normal cars. I spent years in the military never buckled in (Military hummers don't have seats, much less seatbelts. You're just in the back on wooden benches lining the sides). Ditto, jumping into the back of a pickup, or clinging onto runner... no seatbelts.