jump off the bridge, just wear your seatbelt
As I crossed the George Washington Bridge tonight on my way home from MA, I landed on one of the local NYC stations. There was an ad sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration promoting their Click it or Ticket campaign. I didn’t really love the ad…and at first I was even annoyed that my tax dollars were spent helping big brother remind me to be a big boy.
I have somewhat loathed the whole seat belt law for years. Not because I want to be reckless, but because I feel like it should be my decision to protect myself or not. I always wear a seat belt, but shouldn’t that be my decision? And if the government imposes rules about my personal private safety in a car, why don’t they impose it in my house. By extension, I would expect that it should be illegal to shower without a non-slip mat underfoot (as there are thousands of slip-fall deaths each year in the shower).
Well, here is where my high school political science thinking was wrong. No one (especially not the government) cares about my getting hurt. If they did, the Golden Gate Bridge would have safety nets since well over 1200 people have committed suicide by jumping from it (yeah, probably multiple people this month). The choice to not implement that is largely to maintain aesthetics but also due to the cost of implementing it (their words are “engineering challenges” which as an engineer I know means it just costs a few bucks). The decision to make me wear a seat belt comes back to the same thing everything else comes back to: money.
“On average, inpatient hospital care costs for an unbolted crash victim are 50 percent higher than those for a belted crash victim. Society bears 85 percent of those costs, not the individuals involved. Every American pays about $580 a year toward the cost of crashes. If everyone buckled up, this figure would drop significantly. By reaching the goal of 90 percent seat belt use, and 25 percent reduction in child fatalities, we will save $8.8 billion annually.” (reference)
I’m glad my fundamental right to worry about my own safety is infringed upon for something more than just my own well-being :)
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You always think of things that would never occur to me. I would drive by a sign like that and think “Good thing they are telling people to buckle up”. It would never have occurred to me WHY.
Thanks for opening my eyes. There is always a motive behind everything.
So true. The government doesn’t care about people who DIE. Just people who SURVIVE and need medical attention. It’s just about money…
We need a new currency…love!
Great job proving one of the many ways that “no man is an island.” Everything we do affects others one way or another!
Corzine doesn’t wear his seatbelt and society pays for 100% of his damages.
In 1989 I was in a car accident with my sister. I went through the dashboard. I had no seatbelt on, my sister who did ended up with the steering column in her lap. We were lucky to survive. She had minor injuries believe it or not and I had numerous broken bones. I where a seatbelt now not because the government says I should but because I probably wouldn’t have had as many injuries if I had. I still believe it’s our right whether or not we should wear it.
It’s nice to know I’m not the only person who thinks about this stuff. He’s coming soon . . .
It’s the same thing with helmets for motorcycle helmets itlf you think about it. i’m just surprised they haven’t mandated other safety gear for motorcyclists – the helmet only protects the head. many serious injuries could be prevented by kevlar jackets, pants & gloves…
Anti-suicide safety net set for Golden Gate Bridge
Oct 13, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge may soon be rigged with a safety net to deter people from jumping to their deaths from the world-famous landmark, official records showed Monday.
The Golden Gate Transportation District has voted in favor of installing the net pending the results of studies into its environmental impact, according to a statement on the district’s website.
The plastic-covered steel net would extend six meters on either side of the bridge and would cost between 40-50 million dollars, local media reported. It is likely to be several years before the netting is installed, reports said.
The Golden Gate district voted 14 to 1 in favor of installing the netting at a meeting on Friday attended by around 50 people including psychiatrists, suicide prevention experts and relatives of bridge suicides.
More than 10 million tourists visit the Golden Gate Bridge annually, but the landmark also has the distinction of being the world’s number one suicide destination. The number peaked in 1970 with 40 reported suicides from the famous span.
Golden Gate suicides were the subject of a 2006 documentary entitled “The Bridge” which chronicled the stories of a handful of 2004 suicide jumpers.
Since the bridge was built in 1937, at least 1,250 people have jumped to their deaths according to local coroners.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jvMb3vEF-gRnxQAiET6Wni_dLpkg