| There is much afoot lately
regarding seat belt laws, much of which has been instigated by a recent
bill passed by congress called the National Highway Safety Act of 2003
(S. 1993). Here's the jist of it. This bill requires of all
50 states in the Union to either get their seat belt usage up to, or
above, 90% or else pass a primary enforcement law for their
state. They have 3 years to comply with this law. The
penalty? Loss of Federal highway funding of up to 4%. From
where I come from, that's called blackmail and bully tactics. For those that don't understand the phrase "primary enforcement law," let me explain as I didn't understand it at first either and it is a very important phrase. In Kansas and several other states, there are seat belt laws in place, but they aren't violations an officer can pull you over for on their own. That is called a "secondary enforcement law." If the seat belt laws are made into primary enforcement laws, however, then an officer can pull you over just for that. That's the short and sweet of it all. Now, on with all the guts. Here is a copy of the bill that was passed. I pulled a copy of it from the database on www.senate.gov. Search for the string "National Highway Safety Act of 2003" if you'd like to look it up there yourself. I have several links below of various articles sorted by opposition, coverage of both sides, and pro-law. Many of the opposition links are very good. All of the pro-law stuff reads exactly the same, however. There's a reason for that. It's called propaganda. The only thing preached is "save lives", "save lives" and lots of numbers. For the people out there that really think this is all about "saving lives", they have a savior complex and they need to get over it and mind their own business in a free society. As for the numbers, they loosely agree with each other. All I could think of by the time I got through all of it was the old saying "figures lie and liars figure." All the numbers are from polls and study groups. People need to start realizing that they are not statistics; they are real people with independent thought and a way of life of their own. To allow someone else to dictact your way of life is to loose your life. This brings me to yet another subject this goes hand-in-hand with -- our freedom. This subject is lengthy enough, of course, it constituted an entirely separate document. Please click here to read it. Once I get it written, you'll be able to review this document I compiled of all of my favorite quotes I found in all of the below documents that struck me as being the most interesting and profound opposition to seat belt laws -- people after my own heart. :) |
| Vagaries
of seat-belt law a pain in the neck |
A columnist's
excellent article against mandatory seat belts laws. He says to
himself at one point "Why, he asked, can't he just live his life?" |
| Seat Belt Law Endangers
Innocents |
"High observed usage
does not guarantee a lower death rate." "This law is not just
about seat belts..." |
| Dangerous Changes in Seat
Belt Law |
Excellent points
made based on American Colonial History. |
| The Fraud of Seat-Belt
Laws |
Excellent.
Very interesting opposition statistics in there too. |
| www.philipkdickfans.com
-- Discussion group -- Re: Seat Belt Law Opposition Sites |
This one has
excellent comments from people. Particularly read the entry from
"Author: Bill Holdorf, Date: 05-05-04 20:14". "All seat belt laws
should be repealed in order to restore true liberty in the U.S." |
| States that have
Primary Enforcement Seat Belt Laws |
List of states that
have Primary Enforcement Seat Belt Laws (Kansas isn't one of them) |
| Senate pushes seat belt law | Gives insight into
what is really driving this! -- National Highway Safety Act of 2003 (S.
1993). |
| Senators
Warner and Clinton Introduce Legislation to Enact National Primary
Enforcement Seat Belt Law |
From "Advocates for
Highway and Auto Safety". "An estimated $26 billion is spent
annually on medical and emergency response care, lost productivity
and..." |
| Deleware Click It
or Ticket |
"It is important to
remember that driving is not a "right" but a privilege granted and
controlled by the State of Delaware." (I suppose somebody had to
bring that up sooner or later as a lever). |