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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thoughts For Thursday - Seat Belts

It's pretty cut and dry for me; I wear my seat belt every time I am in a car, period.  When I turned 16, before I went to get my drivers license, my dad said to me "I'll make a deal with you; If you promise to always wear your seat belt, I will promise to always wear mine."

Seemed like a no-brainer to me.  I agreed.
I went to take my drivers test on my 16th birthday, I passed with a score of 98 (getting docked 2 points because I turned my wheels the wrong way on an uphill park... ugh!).  I have worn my seat belt every time I'm in a car ever since, and so has my father.  I also make my passengers wear their seat belt.

In April of 1998 my seat belt saved my life.  I was in Wisconsin with my friend, Pam, visiting her family, we were driving back from picking up one of her friends, approaching a stop light driving the speed limit of, I think, 45 MPH.  The light turned yellow as I was almost to the crosswalk and, going 45 MPH, I obviously didn't have time to stop at that point.  There was a pick-up truck coming the opposite direction, waiting to make a left hand turn, she decided to turn when the light turned yellow.  I swerved to the left trying to avoid hitting her, and I end up smashing the front end of my Ford Bronco II and smashing the box of her pick-up truck.  If we had not been wearing our seat belts, we would have been seriously injured.

(sorry for the cut-out pictures... they were the only ones I could find to scan)

I'm thankful for the agreement I made with my father and still to this day we both wear our seat belts.  As a 16 year old, it's easy to think wearing your seat belt isn't 'cool'... I was never that kid.
Not only do I encourage you to wear your seat belt if you don't already, but I encourage you to encourage those around you to wear it.  Make sure your children and family are wearing theirs.

So... Thoughts For Thursday: Do you wear your seat belt? Have you always?  Was there a reason you started?  Has your seat belt ever saved your life?  If so, tell me your story.  Have you ever been injured by not wearing your seat belt?  Tell me your story.

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5 comments:

Kristi @ Mi Vida Ocupada said...

My Guardian Angel saved my life when I was 17 by whispering in my ear and telling me to put on my seat belt. I did it without even questioning it, even though I was just 3 blocks away from my house. A Drunk Driver with several prior convictions hit me less than a minute after I put that seat belt on!! I have been wearing it ever since. E refuses to wear a seat belt and it scares me to death

Lovi said...

I love that your dad explained it to you in such a simple way that made sense. I'm going to remember that for the day my kid is old enough to drive.

I always wear my seatbelt -- I think I saw one too many episodes of Rescue 911 when I was little and it scared the crap out of me. Whatever works, I guess! :-)

Nicole said...

I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS wear my seatbelt. And I always have my passengers wear them as well... I watched too many videos on YouTube about the impact of accidents and how fatal unbuckled passengers can be to other passengers. I usually guilt them by saying "I love you, but not enough to have your body weight slammed into my skull in the event of an accident." HAhA!

Dana said...

I like this topic. I wear my seat belt and always have. I do not feel safe without it even though I have been in a bad habit lately and I don't put it on if I just drive a mile from home. Bad! I have to keep insisting Michael to wear his if he is a passenger in my car. His car makes him wear it because it won't stop beeping. He hates seat belts had has 2 tickets because of it. He was in a severe car accident in Florida and didn't have his seat belt on and was told that if he would have had his seat belt on, he would have died. So now I think he thinks it doesn't matter if you wear it. I just know I feel better with it. I like the pact you made with your dad.

Anonymous said...

I have recently reflected on that accident and I'm soooo grateful that we had our seatbelts on!! I too, still wear my seatbelt in every vehicle I'm in. Love you Ang!!

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