Road safety is no joke, but people treat it like it is. From refusing to use seatbelts, to driving while under the influence, it seems like folks like to live their life on the edge. But what nobody realizes is that one rash decision can change their lives forever.
Wearing a seatbelt might seem like a hassle, but it can protect you from many different road accidents. One teen was trying to explain this to his friends, who refused to strap themselves in while riding in his car. He decided not to back down and taught them a lesson.
More info: Reddit
Guy whose stubborn friends argue with him about wearing their seatbelts are left behind at nearly midnight to walk back home in chilly weather
Image credits: Luke Miller (not the actual photo)
18YO decided to give his 2 friends a ride home after work, but they didn’t put their seatbelts on and refused to take him seriously when he asked them to buckle up
Image credits: Luke Miller (not the actual photo)
He said he wanted them to strap in for safety and to avoid tickets, his friends argued and eventually got out after he said he wouldn’t drive them without seatbelts on
Image credits: Flaky_Camp_706
Since the friends didn’t back down, he drove off, leaving them behind in the dark to walk the 20 minutes home
The Original Poster (OP) is an 18-year-old man. He mentioned that he was getting off from work and since his friends were also leaving at the same time, he decided to drive them home. He said that they all lived within 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of the workplace and that it was a short 3-5 minute drive or 20-minute walk. But when his friends got into the car, the OP did not hear the sound of their seatbelts clicking.
He asked the guys to put on their seatbelts, but they were confused and asked him if he was serious. He said that it was important for the sake of safety and that without it, he might get a ticket. But his friends were argumentative and refused to listen to what he had to say. The poster was right to insist that his friends buckle up. It’s estimated that seat belt use has saved approximately 374,276 lives from 1975 to 2017.
Research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that nearly 25,420 occupants of passenger vehicles were killed in 2022. About 50% of them died because they weren’t buckled down. Simply putting on the seatbelt can reduce the risk of injury and death among front-seat drivers and passengers by 45-50%. For backseat passengers, it decreases the risk by 25%.
That’s why the OP did not back down. He understood the risk of not wearing seatbelts and did not want to give into the stubbornness of his friends. He told them that he wouldn’t be driving them anywhere if they didn’t buckle up. But his friends scoffed at him, only to realize that he was being serious when he drove away, leaving them behind in the cold.
Image credits: Wendy Wei (not the actual photo)
Even though the poster and his friends weren’t very far from their homes, it’s important to note that most fatal crashes happen within 25 miles from the house and often at speeds less than 40mph. These 18-year-old teens were arrogant and didn’t want to put on their seatbelts. It’s been observed that young adults have the highest rates of seatbelt nonuse, and men are 3 times as likely to avoid buckling up compared to women. But the worst part is that young men are the most at risk for injury or death from passenger vehicle crashes.
What doesn’t make sense is why the poster’s friends were so adamant about not putting on their seatbelts. They seemed to keep making excuses and were even willing to walk home at night in the chilly weather instead of doing this one small thing. According to a study, 56% of people fail to buckle up because they are driving short distances. Around 65% say that they don’t wear seatbelts because they are uncomfortable. Some other reasons are also due to being in a hurry or feeling resentful at being told what to do.
But this is one aspect of road safety that should not be ignored anymore. Now that you know the importance of wearing a seatbelt, here are some tips on how to buckle up effectively:
- You should fasten the seatbelt across your shoulder and chest with minimal slack. Do not wear it under your arm or behind your back because fastening it the wrong way can cause serious internal injuries in a crash.
- The lap belt should be snug and lie low across your hips after fastening, this will protect you from sliding out under your belt in case of an accident.
- It’s also necessary to have your seatbelt fastened even if the car is equipped with airbags. This is because airbags can’t protect you if the car is hit from the rear or side.
A small action like this can have the biggest impact, which is why it’s good that the guy stuck to his guns. An EMT and an ER worker commented on the post to tell the teen that he was correct to stand up to his friends and that they had seen the repercussions of people not wearing seatbelts. Do you think OP was right to drive off at night without his friends? What would you have done if you were in his place?
Netizens were annoyed at the stubbornness of the poster’s friends, and many shared personal experiences involving car accidents and the use of seatbelts
Image credits: SCREEN POST (not the actual photo)
