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  • #16
    I was going to comment on that, but my thoughts were starting to veer into fratching territory.
    Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you speak with the Fraud department. -- CrazedClerkthe2nd
    OW! Rolled my eyes too hard, saw my brain. -- Seanette
    she seems to top me in crazy, and I'm enough crazy for my family. -- Cooper
    Yes, I am evil. What's your point? -- Jester

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    • #17
      OneMoreTime,

      Mom was unbelted in the center back seat when a guy going FAR too fast hit the car she was in. Her knees went into the metal struts of the front bucket seats; shattered both legs above the knee. Now, Mom had had both knees replaced with titanium joints; the thigh bones shattered exactly at the point of the metal insertion.

      Interesting fact: there are two types of metal knee implant. The type Mom had, the doctors had to put the bones back together like a jigsaw puzzle. She was in a nursing home for six months and in pain for the rest of her life.

      She was lucky; the other type they would have had to amputate above the knee. Did I mention she was 73 at the time?

      No seatbelt. no drive.

      Comment


      • #18
        I'm glad I'm not the only one with a seatbelt rule. If it's not on, my car doesn't get out of park.

        In Oz, it is against the law to not wear your seatbelt. In most states, the driver and person not wearing one will both get fined.

        Back before seatbelts were a requirement, my aunty went from the middle of the back seat of a beetle straight through the windscreen. She get a scalp full of glass and cuts and one eye is slightly droopy from stitches.

        Nearly 20 years ago, one of my cousins was in a very serious car accident. He was driving, his gf was in the passenger seat and one of their friends was in the back. He lost control on a roundabout and crashed through a brick and glass wall of a shop. (Bricks to just above knee height, then big glass windows.) The friend in the back wasn't wearing a seatbelt and went through the windscreen. He ended up with several breaks in his pelvis, cracked/broken ribs, broken nose and something broken in the shoulder/collar bone area. The gf ended up with broken ribs, dislocated shoulder from the seatbelt and broken collar bone on the other side from the impact of the friend hitting her on the way out the windscreen. I think she had a minor head injury because of him too. My cousin was in an induced coma for about 2 weeks and has a permanent brain injury. He had lots of internal injuries from the steering wheel, etc, but the head injury was on the side that the friend hit on the way through.

        My cousin had to relearn how the walk again because he couldn't remember how to. (Speech and most other motor skills were fine. It was just walking.) He also lost a big chunk of the 2 years prior to the accident. Even now, he still has some memory issues with short term stuff. He needs to write everything in a diary as soon as you tell him something. He gets exhausted fast and blacks out when he is tired. While he can work, he can only do about 5 hours at a time and it can't be super complicated. (He has worked at Macca's and now works as a bartender but could never work with heavy machines or with detailed processes.)
        A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read. - Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!

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        • #19
          My car, my rules - seatbelts are mandatory. I had a kindergartener decide he didn't need to wear one because his parents "didn't make him". Three kids in the daycare went to kindergarten, my daughter was one, and the parents took turns getting them back to the daycare after school. He didn't get his way and I made sure the daycare provider informed his parents because if the kid still made a stink they would be the one to pick him up everyday. I'm not going to put up with a five year old attempting to throw his weight around.
          Figers are vicious I tell ya. They crawl up your leg and steal your belly button lint.

          I'm a case study.

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          • #20
            I want to reply generally to all the "everyone buckles up" comments. (I realize that those aren't directed at me, but still.)

            In my personal vehicle (although I've said before, I haven't owned a car for over a decade), everyone buckles up, no exceptions.

            But in my cab, I must abide by the company's rules. Cab Co That Is Yellow requires everyone buckled up, but Big Green Cab Co allows adults to say no. I asked if I could require it, and was flat out told no, I cannot make passengers wear the seatbelt if they refuse it.

            The only exception I make to that is if someone is, in my opinion, not mentally capable of understanding the repercussions of a wreck if they're not buckled up.
            Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you speak with the Fraud department. -- CrazedClerkthe2nd
            OW! Rolled my eyes too hard, saw my brain. -- Seanette
            she seems to top me in crazy, and I'm enough crazy for my family. -- Cooper
            Yes, I am evil. What's your point? -- Jester

            Comment


            • #21
              My only exception to my seatbelt rule was my Ex Wife. She had like 9 different surgeries to her belly/abdominal area that even me moderately braking would have ripped open her belly with a seatbelt . Heavy braking or an accident with a seatbelt on would literally have torn her belly apart.
              I'm lost without a paddle and headed up SH*T creek.
              -- Life Sucks Then You Die.


              "I'll believe corp. are people when Texas executes one."

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              • #22
                All this talk about Seat Belts. Am I mistaken, here? I thought wearing a seat belt was mandatory in the U.S. for passenger vehicles. Maybe that's on a state-by-state basis.
                Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Quoth Deserted View Post
                  I did what the company required at the time: I sent a specific message through the dispatch terminal (code 70) that meant "passenger refused seatbelt."
                  That should open and shut your case for you right then and there (assuming Dispatcher's records have been properly kept.)

                  You shouldn't have anything to worry about. Just keep your story simple and be truthful. Don't embellish, don't hide any warts, just stick to the facts. As Judge Judy says, "If you tell the truth, you don't need to remember what you said."

                  Your lawyer will probably go through the events of the day as well, and make sure you know how to describe how you were driving that day (and in general). About the only weakpoint I could see for your own side is if they try to claim you as an aggressive driver. Still as long as you were following the laws and your company's rules you should be fine.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Quoth mjr View Post
                    All this talk about Seat Belts. Am I mistaken, here? I thought wearing a seat belt was mandatory in the U.S. for passenger vehicles. Maybe that's on a state-by-state basis.
                    I can't speak for other states, but I know in Ohio you must wear a seat belt in the front seat. Rear seat is optional. Children under 8 must be in a booster/safety seat unless the are 4'9" or taller. Any child from age 8 to 15 has to wear a seat belt regardless of which seat they are in.

                    Also, the police can not use wearing of a seat belt as the sole reason for pulling you over.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Quoth mjr View Post
                      All this talk about Seat Belts. Am I mistaken, here? I thought wearing a seat belt was mandatory in the U.S. for passenger vehicles. Maybe that's on a state-by-state basis.
                      It is. Wikipedia has a page that summarizes the laws state-by-state. (Note that it says "Age 8+ in front seats" for Arizona; I don't let kids under about 12 ride in the front at all.)

                      The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a page discussing the federal safety standards, but as far as I know, doesn't have age requirements for belts vs no belts.

                      Arizona's law is pretty straightforward: everyone in the front seat, required; children under 16 anywhere in the vehicle, required; adults not in the front seat, optional. Children under 5 must be in a child seat and children ages 5-8 under 4'10 must be in a booster seat. (A lot of people think that the law here requires everyone to be buckled up; I have no reason to disabuse them of that notion.)

                      Quoth Jetfire View Post
                      That should open and shut your case for you right then and there (assuming Dispatcher's records have been properly kept.)
                      That's what the lawyer said, but still.

                      Quoth Jetfire View Post
                      You shouldn't have anything to worry about. Just keep your story simple and be truthful. Don't embellish, don't hide any warts, just stick to the facts. As Judge Judy says, "If you tell the truth, you don't need to remember what you said."
                      That's pretty much how I operate on a day-to-day basis anyway.

                      Quoth Jetfire View Post
                      Your lawyer will probably go through the events of the day as well, and make sure you know how to describe how you were driving that day (and in general). About the only weakpoint I could see for your own side is if they try to claim you as an aggressive driver. Still as long as you were following the laws and your company's rules you should be fine.
                      We already did that once (aside from the "aggressive" thing). When he has me come in for my statement I'm sure we'll cover it again.
                      Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you speak with the Fraud department. -- CrazedClerkthe2nd
                      OW! Rolled my eyes too hard, saw my brain. -- Seanette
                      she seems to top me in crazy, and I'm enough crazy for my family. -- Cooper
                      Yes, I am evil. What's your point? -- Jester

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Quoth Pixelated View Post
                        The thing to remember, when you're on the hot seat, is JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION THAT'S BEEN ASKED. Do NOT volunteer extra information
                        No kidding, the best answers you can give to the opposing shyster are: Yes, no and I don't recall.
                        I'm trying to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my keister!

                        Who is John Galt?
                        -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          At my last job, I got sued all the time. (my department was part of the County Recorder/Voter Registration Dept. and disgruntled voters liked to sue because we did such things as enforce the rules. IMO, its very likely that you will not go to court. The lawyers will probably settle things between themselves first.

                          If you do end up in court, do as the others have said. Answer the question with the shortest answer you can. "Yes." is a complete sentence. Yes, sir or No sir is polite, but you don't need to call anyone Sir or Ma'am except the judge, and that person is addressed "Your Honor".

                          Don't worry overmuch about it. You will be fine.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Quoth morgana View Post
                            OneMoreTime,

                            Mom was unbelted in the center back seat when a guy going FAR too fast hit the car she was in. Her knees went into the metal struts of the front bucket seats; shattered both legs above the knee.

                            No seatbelt. no drive.
                            I am living proof that seatbelts saves lives. That's all.
                            Last edited by EricKei; 03-28-2018, 11:18 AM. Reason: snip

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                            • #29
                              On my 20th birthday I was passenger in an accident where the car flipped twice and the driver was thrown into the backseat, still holding the steering wheel. Neither of us were buckled in. Neither of us were hurt.
                              I don't see that as proof that seat belts aren't needed; I see that as proof that I was a damned lucky fool, and I always wear a seat belt now.
                              Last edited by seigus; 03-29-2018, 12:51 PM. Reason: spelling
                              Life's too short to drink cheap beer

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Several decades ago I was in an accident where I did a lot of things wrong, but was also very fortunate in that those errors didn't bit me in the butt.

                                I was waiting to make a left turn when I got rear-ended. And I had my wheels turned hard to the left, so my car shot into the same oncoming traffic that made it impossible for me to floor it to get out of the way. However, the impact imparted more acceleration than the gas pedal could have, so I shot through a gap I otherwise wouldn't have fit through.
                                Stuff like that.

                                The car behind the one that hit me had two paramedics in it.
                                As they approached me, one said (of the other driver), "He says this was all his fault and he's refusing medical attention, how about you?"
                                And I blurted out, "I'm nowhere NEAR that stupid."

                                So one uneventful trip to the hospital later, the doctor is probing my tummy to see if it makes me scream in pain and asks if I had been wearing my seatbelt.
                                "Yes, always." (pause) "Well, ... it's a very old car, and the shoulder belt is separate from the lap belt. I was only wearing my lap belt."
                                He gave me a look that said "You know better than to do that" and he was right, I did.

                                1972 Dodge Dart, accident was in ... 1989? It was totaled, I was fine. (well, I had one day of miserable whiplash, but only one day.)

                                My favorite part was "giving my statement to the police". That goes in quotes because it went like this:
                                The State Trooper came to the emergency room and said, "He said it was all his fault, and that works for me. He said he couldn't remember if your turn signal was on, I figure it probably was. Your car is sitting on Airport Road, I figure that's where you were going. Sign here."

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