Double Standard for Florida Drivers!

My husband and I are “religious” about putting on our seatbelts! I know intellectually that seatbelts save lives.  All you have to do is read the statistics and talk to people whose lives have been saved by wearing seatbelts.  I’m not saying that I resent wearing them.  Under my breathe I am mumbling, just like a little child, “It’s not fair”! If I were a child I’d also stomp my feet and make a face for good measure.  But I’m a grown-up! I know the rules of the road aren’t fair—yet I’m pissed and resentful!

 Why should a little bell ding me to death if I fail to adjust my seatbelt the exact moment I enter the car! Can’t that dinger, six ring dinger to be exact, just stop that infernal beeping! Alright, already! I’ll belt up! The one time just last week when I forgot (cross my heart, I really did forget), I got stopped

by the state police and very politely, and with all the professionalism the officer could muster, he explained to me  the dangers of being unbuckled. And then he issued me a ticket for $152.00! After I gasped in surprise at the amount of the ticket, he proudly pointed out that because of my good driving record, I would not accumulate any points on my flawless record!  Nice consolation prize! I also asked (boldly pushing my luck) if he had made his quota for the day yet.  “Easy money”, I pointed out.  “We’re like sitting ducks in a pond,” I said.  He looked irritated. I pushed my luck again.  I tried explaining to him that two almost naked beach goers in flip flops and hair tussled by the wind were zipping along on a motorcycle, right before his eyes. “No seatbelt. No helmets. Flip flops? Really?” I said sarcastically. He just shrugged and continued his spiel!  Blah, blah, blah! I boldly-- usually I’m timid-- pointed the beach goers out! He shrugged it off! “It’s the law!” That ended that. 

 

Well, I don’t know about you, but as a teacher, I don’t have $152.00 just lying around in my cookie jar! I don’t even have a cookie jar!  Why, in Florida, do motorcycles and scooters not need to wear helmets at the very least?  It’s not the law.  Some choose to wear helmets; most don’t!  At least from my informal survey.  And certainly they don’t need to wear seatbelts.  Foolish you say! Absurd to wear seatbelts because riders may need to jump off their bikes in an accident, you say.  Well, from the way I see motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic on the major highways, a seatbelt and helmet are not going to save them if they crash.  At the very least, the motorcyclists and scooter should not be allowed to ride on major highways. Just the way it’s prohibited for hitchhikers and bicycle riders to be on major Interstate highways, it is also just as dangerous for motorcycles to be on major

highways without proper protection.  They should be banned from Interstates and notbe allowed to go over 35 mph on any other roads without proper gear, including seatbelts and helmets. They could post separate speed limits for motorcyclists along with driver speed limits.   Absurd?  No more than a law that targets drivers in a two ton vehicle for not wearing seatbelts while driving at slower speeds.

And while we are on the subject, and since I am an educator, why not have seat belts on school

buses?  Neither old nor new buses in Florida require vulnerable children to wear seatbelts when on a school bus?  How can that be?  I never remember seatbelts on buses.  And those little ones move about the bus, even though they are required to stay put. It’s like herding cats, keeping kids still on a school bus!   Maybe seatbelts would keep them a bit more protected from their friends and the oncoming traffic



So when you talk about seat belts and the unfairness of our traffic laws, I am furious.  It makes me crazy and drives me bonkers!  Are you with me?