5 ms·

That’s likely because people do not instantly start obeying the law the moment it’s instituted - takes time to break a habit and lax enforcement (honestly how m

That’s likely because people do not instantly start obeying the law the moment it’s instituted - takes time to break a habit and lax enforcement (honestly how many people do you know who were pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt) would result in no noticeable cliff in fatalities. Instead it probably gets absorbed in the gradual fatality reduction you see over time.

maxwell 3y ago
Good point, seat belt utilization is impossible to track accurately (until in-car surveillance cameras are fully rolled out), and likely varies widely generationally, regionally, etc.
- neuronexmachina 3y ago
  US's NHTSA has stats on belt use rate from 1983-2017 based on the National Occupant Protection Use Survey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_use_rates_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_use_rates_in_the_Uni...
  - viraptor 3y ago
    ~10% not using seatbelts in 2017 is extremely surprising to me. I really thought it would be ~1%.
    - mrguyorama 3y ago
      Humans are terrible at risk management and there is still a stupidly large contingent of people who think seat belt laws are "nanny state", or that seat belts are "more dangerous" and they'd "rather be thrown clear in an accident" Basically a lot of people operate on cartoon logic.
    - cogman10 3y ago
      There's a bunch of people that will say "It's none of the government's business if I wear a seatbelt or not, so I'm not going to in protest of the nanny state"
    - midasuni 3y ago
      More common than mobile phone usage https://metro.co.uk/2023/08/17/police-use-ai-to-catch-300-drivers-breaking-law-in-three-days-19350733/?ico=trending-module_tag_artificial-intelligence_item-0 https://metro.co.uk/2023/08/17/police-use-ai-to-catch-300-dr...
dfxm12 3y ago
In the places I drive, you can't get pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt. You can only get cited after some other violation, like speeding or blowing through a stop sign.
- dontlaugh 3y ago
  In many countries the police can pull over a vehicle and fine a passenger that isn’t wearing a seatbelt.
  - rootusrootus 3y ago
    Many places in the US, you can be ticketed if a passenger isn't wearing a seatbelt. But I think the point GP is making is that it's also not a primary offense in may jurisdictions -- you can't be pulled over for it specifically, but it's fair game if you get pulled over for something else.

maxwell 3y ago

Good point, seat belt utilization is impossible to track accurately (until in-car surveillance cameras are fully rolled out), and likely varies widely generationally, regionally, etc.

neuronexmachina 3y ago
US's NHTSA has stats on belt use rate from 1983-2017 based on the National Occupant Protection Use Survey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_use_rates_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_use_rates_in_the_Uni...
- viraptor 3y ago
  ~10% not using seatbelts in 2017 is extremely surprising to me. I really thought it would be ~1%.
  - mrguyorama 3y ago
    Humans are terrible at risk management and there is still a stupidly large contingent of people who think seat belt laws are "nanny state", or that seat belts are "more dangerous" and they'd "rather be thrown clear in an accident" Basically a lot of people operate on cartoon logic.
  - cogman10 3y ago
    There's a bunch of people that will say "It's none of the government's business if I wear a seatbelt or not, so I'm not going to in protest of the nanny state"
  - midasuni 3y ago
    More common than mobile phone usage https://metro.co.uk/2023/08/17/police-use-ai-to-catch-300-drivers-breaking-law-in-three-days-19350733/?ico=trending-module_tag_artificial-intelligence_item-0 https://metro.co.uk/2023/08/17/police-use-ai-to-catch-300-dr...

dfxm12 3y ago

In the places I drive, you can't get pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt. You can only get cited after some other violation, like speeding or blowing through a stop sign.

dontlaugh 3y ago
In many countries the police can pull over a vehicle and fine a passenger that isn’t wearing a seatbelt.
- rootusrootus 3y ago
  Many places in the US, you can be ticketed if a passenger isn't wearing a seatbelt. But I think the point GP is making is that it's also not a primary offense in may jurisdictions -- you can't be pulled over for it specifically, but it's fair game if you get pulled over for something else.