3 ms·

I never buy this argument. I'm sure we could've focus grouped seat belts and no one would've liked the experience but thank god we have them now, for the better

• braythwayt 7y ago
  We did "sorta" focus group seat belts, and I was there to witness it. Before laws mandated the use of seat belts, most people didn't use them. My mother bought a Volvo 122 in the 1960s, and people marvelled at the three-point harness. But it's not like US manufacturers rushed to take advantage of Volvo making the patents freely available, and nor did Volvo take over the world by storm. Some cars had alarms that nagged the driver if the seat belts weren't done up. I recall my uncle routed around this by looping the driver and "shotgun" belts -behind- the seats and fastening them. Left to their own devices, large numbers of people prefer convenience and low price to safety. Only by regulation did the mass market adopt safer cars. So I completely agree, no, people did not like wearing seat belts. They only did so when their option to forgo safety was removed. p.s. I recall watching this PSA in Ontario. Everyone laughed about it, but soooooo many young men then went out and drove their muscle cars sans belt. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sri9j3PA5vE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sri9j3PA5vE