Ga. May Require Seat Belt Use in Pickups

Principessa

Expert Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Posts
18,660
Media
0
Likes
138
Points
193
Sexuality
100% Straight, 0% Gay
Gender
Female
I can't believe how friggin' retarded this state is sometimes! :rolleyes::mad::confused: What the hell made these people exclude pick-ups from the seat belt law? Is there data about how pick-ups are ultra safe and therefore don't need seatbelts.

January 28, 2008

Ga. May Require Seat Belt Use in Pickups

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:51 p.m. ET

ATLANTA (AP) -- The way some Georgians see it, if they're going to get thrown through the windshield of a pickup truck, that's nobody's business but their own.

That kind of thinking helps explain why Georgia is the only state that specifically exempts adults in pickups from having to wear seat belts.

The fight over seat belts is waged just about every year in the Georgia Legislature. But there's hope that this year could be different. No fewer than three House bills to require seat belts in pickups are pending, and the Senate has adopted its own measure.

''This is the year it should pass,'' said Sen. Don Thomas, a physician from the carpet-mill town of Dalton who sponsored one of the bills. ''It's embarrassing. Instead of making our state look tough, it makes us look foolish.''

There's little doubt that the laws could prevent many deaths and hundreds of injuries each year. They could also save millions in medical costs, and help the state secure more federal highway money.

There are no known lobbyists lined up against the effort. And insurance companies, safety groups and auto associations lined up in favor of such legislation. But attempts to pass tougher seat belt laws here have been blocked for years by lawmakers -- particularly those from rural areas -- who argue that wearing seat belts is a matter of personal freedom.
''I'm a free-spirited guy. I believe that people should wear their seat belts. I just don't believe the government should tell you to,'' said Sen. Jeff Mullis, a Republican from the small town of Chickamauga. ''That's how I usually vote on these issues -- anti-Big Brother.''

Phil Burrell, a 34-year-old pickup truck driver who lives in Sylvester, population 6,000, said, ''We got enough laws on the books for law enforcement to enforce, and the seat belt law is another way to tack on something.'' He said he would abide by such a law if it passed, but he is not sure it would make him safer.

''When the Good Lord calls me home,'' he said, ''a seat belt ain't gonna stop it.''

Indiana used to be aligned with Georgia on the pickup seat belts question. But that state enacted a law last year requiring seat belts in trucks after lawmakers agreed also to block police from using checkpoints to enforce seat belt compliance.
New Hampshire still has no seat belt requirement for adults.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts in pickups help reduce deaths by 60 percent, and about seven in 10 people who died in crashes involving pickups were not wearing a seat belt.

In Georgia alone, the American Automobile Association estimates that at least 20 lives could be saved and 400 serious injuries prevented every year if the state required seat belts in pickup trucks.

The federal government has long tied highway money to seat belt restrictions. Georgia missed out on $20.7 million that was available under a 2005 federal highway law because it failed to change its law. And AAA estimates the state could save $17 million in medical costs over 10 years by changing the seat belt law.

Ultimately, Georgia's changing demographics could decide the issue. As metropolitan Atlanta continues to swell with people from other states, rural resistance to seat belt laws could be diluted.

''It may be a reflection of a state that doesn't want to admit, ultimately, that it's not what it once was,'' said Char Miller, director of urban studies at Trinity University in San Antonio. ''This is a last gasp. And I don't imagine it will last very long.''

On the Net:
Senate Bill 86: http://www.legis.ga.gov
National Highway Safety Institute: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov
 

dong20

Sexy Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Posts
6,058
Media
0
Likes
28
Points
183
Location
The grey country
Sexuality
No Response
You need to wear a seatbelt during pickups, is that to reduce slapped face pr kicked up the ass induced whiplash?

On topic, I agree with you, odd exclusion, perhaps it was size based protection theorising, or a sinister Government conspiracy to rid the state of Pickup drivers.
 

B_Lightkeeper

Loved Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2006
Posts
5,268
Media
0
Likes
708
Points
208
Location
Eastern Alabama
Sexuality
99% Gay, 1% Straight
Gender
Male
I wasn't aware that our neighboring state, Georgia, did not require seatbelts in truck. Of all the ones we've had the last ten years, all were standard equipment .... and used!

The law I'd like to see is restricting people riding in the back - especially children.

Of course, I know this will subject me to redneck flack and criticism.
 

BikerGirlnAtl

Just Browsing
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Posts
179
Media
0
Likes
0
Points
103
Location
Atlanta
Sexuality
100% Straight, 0% Gay
Gender
Female
From what I understand the reason why you weren't required to wear seatbelts in a pickup truck is so the farmers could get in and out of their truck quickly when dealing with livestock and working on the farm but I could be wrong....either way I've always worn my seatbelt no matter what type of vehicle I'm in. I do know several people who don't bother to wear their seat belt in trucks simple because they don't have to. I don't care what they do with it honestly.
 

jason_els

<img border="0" src="/images/badges/gold_member.gi
Joined
Dec 16, 2004
Posts
10,228
Media
0
Likes
163
Points
193
Location
Warwick, NY, USA
Sexuality
90% Gay, 10% Straight
Gender
Male
Yup, it's for farming. Seatbelts on farm equipment is a bit ridiculous though I can see it for a pickup though, on the other hand, where it matters most is when you're driving on private land so it doesn't matter what you drive or how you drive it.

Most states will allow anything to have farm plates. Some may require taillights, but basically you can drive a few hunks of metal held together by bailtwine with farm plates. The idea of farm plates is so that you can take a farm vehicle on the road for brief periods to go from one parcel of land to another though you can just as well drive it on the freeway. My first attempt at driving a manual was in the farm pickup, which was merely 20 years older than I was. It had a superman shifter and the clutch was a Nautilus machine.

It also kinda had headlights, missing parts of the floor, had mice living in the cab, and dicey drum brakes that frequently lost all pressure and went to mechanical if you held them down too hard. You had to use hand signals too.

Which was, arguably, better than the '36 Ford tractor which is STILL running (why can't Ford do that today??) and used for plowing and moving around other machinery and trailers, but has no brakes at all. That's worse than it sounds though given how low tractor gearing is.

People in largely rural areas don't believe the government has a right to nanny adults. Who are they to tell you what to do?
 

dong20

Sexy Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Posts
6,058
Media
0
Likes
28
Points
183
Location
The grey country
Sexuality
No Response
Yup, it's for farming. Seatbelts on farm equipment is a bit ridiculous though I can see it for a pickup though, on the other hand, where it matters most is when you're driving on private land so it doesn't matter what you drive or how you drive it.

Most states will allow anything to have farm plates. Some may require taillights, but basically you can drive a few hunks of metal held together by bailtwine with farm plates. The idea of farm plates is so that you can take a farm vehicle on the road for brief periods to go from one parcel of land to another though you can just as well drive it on the freeway. My first attempt at driving a manual was in the farm pickup, which was merely 20 years older than I was. It had a superman shifter and the clutch was a Nautilus machine.

...

People in largely rural areas don't believe the government has a right to nanny adults. Who are they to tell you what to do?

I'd agree with the above exemption and closing sentiment within limits.

Those being that if a 'farm' vehicle is on a public highway and thus interacting with other vehicles that are required to adhere to such requirements, it should do so too. That said, I appreciate that there is a case for fair and justified mitigation in the case of merely 'crossing a highway' from one field to another for example, but driving on the freeway? That seems entirely unreasonable, especially if the vehicle is inherently dangerous or otherwise not roadworthy (no lights, bad brakes, poor steering etc). I'm sure most wouldn't do that, but if it's legal then I'd bet some would.

My uncle was a farmer and along with his good road legal stuff he had some pretty 'dodgy' vehicles but he went to extreme lengths to avoid driving them on the roads because while they were fine on his tracks and fields, the public highway (kids on bikes etc) is a different ballgame. He always said he could never live with himself if he hit someone who stepped out into the road and he couldn't stop because the brakes were bad.
 

D_Sir Fitzwilly Wankheimer III

Experimental Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Posts
788
Media
0
Likes
3
Points
161
anyone who dosent wear a seatbelt is a dumb shit. Here's some poetic justice. kid wrote a an article about how he doesn't need someone to tell him he must wear a seat belt. guess what? he and two freinds crashed. he was ejected and killed. hisfreinds buckeled up and only had minor injuries. In florida, seeing bodies spraweld out on I95 is unfortunately not an uncommon site. I have no remorse for them.

JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - Local
 

D_Sir Fitzwilly Wankheimer III

Experimental Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Posts
788
Media
0
Likes
3
Points
161
I wasn't aware that our neighboring state, Georgia, did not require seatbelts in truck. Of all the ones we've had the last ten years, all were standard equipment .... and used!

The law I'd like to see is restricting people riding in the back - especially children.

Of course, I know this will subject me to redneck flack and criticism.




No flack from me dude. A couple years ago I watched them hose off what was left of a taco bender. He flew out the back the got run over a few times.
 

dong20

Sexy Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Posts
6,058
Media
0
Likes
28
Points
183
Location
The grey country
Sexuality
No Response
anyone who dosent wear a seatbelt is a dumb shit. Here's some poetic justice. kid wrote a an article about how he doesn't need someone to tell him he must wear a seat belt. guess what? he and two freinds crashed. he was ejected and killed. hisfreinds buckeled up and only had minor injuries. In florida, seeing bodies spraweld out on I95 is unfortunately not an uncommon site. I have no remorse for them.

JournalStar.com - Lincoln, Nebraska - Local

I've seen similar, it's ugly, unsettling and above all unnecessary.
 

SpeedoMike

Sexy Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Posts
2,793
Media
0
Likes
49
Points
123
Location
San Francisco Bay Area
Sexuality
100% Gay, 0% Straight
Gender
Male
Seat belts are required in every vehicle here with exception to tractors. Pickups are vehicles too.
In the USA federal law requires all cars and trucks to have seatbelts. I believe that's been law since early-mid 1960s. Forty years later some people still won't wear them even though it's the law. Legislation can't mandate intelligence...
 

dong20

Sexy Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Posts
6,058
Media
0
Likes
28
Points
183
Location
The grey country
Sexuality
No Response
Interesting how some people seem to feel that their rights are being infringed by seat belt laws, but are perfectly fine with other legislation that amounts to a far more meaningful infringement on personal freedoms.

Indeed. I think it's a failure of perspective.

The tendency to assign more importance to those things that affect a person tangibly every day (seatbelt, smoking etc) compared to those which may either not be fully understood or which appear 'hypothetical' - or don't affect me (real identity, patriot act etc) but which could (in reality) affect them and their family for the rest of their lives.
 

dong20

Sexy Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2006
Posts
6,058
Media
0
Likes
28
Points
183
Location
The grey country
Sexuality
No Response
In the USA federal law requires all cars and trucks to have seatbelts. I believe that's been law since early-mid 1960s. Forty years later some people still won't wear them even though it's the law. Legislation can't mandate intelligence...

There's a difference between legislation mandating that seatbelts be fitted and legislation requiring they be worn. I wasn't aware of a federal seat belt law - lots of incentives but no law. At least one state doesn't require seat belts to be worn by adults, New Hampshire I believe.

But, your last sentence is spot on!!
 

B_Think_Kink

Sexy Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2006
Posts
10,419
Media
0
Likes
48
Points
193
Gender
Female
Well now that I think about it my vehicle from 2003 and 2006 both have alarms on them that go off every 150ft if you don't have your seat belt on. Do you Americans not have this handy piece of equipment installed on your vehicles?
 

D_Sir Fitzwilly Wankheimer III

Experimental Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Posts
788
Media
0
Likes
3
Points
161
Well now that I think about it my vehicle from 2003 and 2006 both have alarms on them that go off every 150ft if you don't have your seat belt on. Do you Americans not have this handy piece of equipment installed on your vehicles?


there's should be wire under your seat. it senses your weight. just un plug it. I always wear my belt when driving bt it's anoying if you're just sting in the driveway or parking lot with the car running.