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I was surprised to learn that seat-belt usage took so long to take on. Only 90% in 2019. It's not like it's some horrible burden to do. > I remember many of t

I was surprised to learn that seat-belt usage took so long to take on. Only 90% in 2019. It's not like it's some horrible burden to do. > I remember many of them showed the dummies falling out of the cars when they slammed into a wall and shocked everyone. This reminds me of a short Simpsons bit from the 90s about crash-test dummies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWnPvsurPvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWnPvsurPvI

xnx 2y ago
People were also pretty annoyed that they wouldn't be allowed to drink while driving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ Edit: fixed typo
- throw0101a 2y ago
  > People were also pretty annoyed that they would be allowed to drink while driving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ Correction: "…they would not be allowed to drink while…"
  - alsetmusic 2y ago
    “Pretty soon we’re gonna be a communist country.” That’s how much propaganda we get in the USA.
potato3732842 2y ago
Several generations grew up without the habit of using seat belts. It shouldn't be surprising that they didn't really ever start using them.
gwbas1c 2y ago
> I was surprised to learn that seat-belt usage took so long to take on. Look up the automatic seat belt fad from the 80s and 90s. To make a long story short, there's a reason why they fell out of favor; you still had to manually put on your lap belt, and a lot of people who normally would wear their seat belt correctly didn't realize they had to wear a lap belt. Also, no one wears seat belts in India. When a car came to pick me up, there was no seat belt in the rear seat. The driver had tucked them under the seat, so I made him pull them back out. As we drove along a semi-freeway, the center divider was giant potted plants instead of a guard rail. Good luck if you happen to drift into one of those without a seat belt.
- sjm-lbm 2y ago
  To be fair, the automatic belt "fad" was more interesting than that. For a brief time in the 80s (and into the early 90s), cars were required to have either automatic seat belts or airbags. Generally speaking, air bags were more expensive during that time period, so automatic seat belts were more popular.

xnx 2y ago

People were also pretty annoyed that they wouldn't be allowed to drink while driving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ Edit: fixed typo

throw0101a 2y ago
> People were also pretty annoyed that they would be allowed to drink while driving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xcQIoh3FQQ Correction: "…they would not be allowed to drink while…"
- alsetmusic 2y ago
  “Pretty soon we’re gonna be a communist country.” That’s how much propaganda we get in the USA.

potato3732842 2y ago

Several generations grew up without the habit of using seat belts. It shouldn't be surprising that they didn't really ever start using them.

gwbas1c 2y ago

> I was surprised to learn that seat-belt usage took so long to take on. Look up the automatic seat belt fad from the 80s and 90s. To make a long story short, there's a reason why they fell out of favor; you still had to manually put on your lap belt, and a lot of people who normally would wear their seat belt correctly didn't realize they had to wear a lap belt. Also, no one wears seat belts in India. When a car came to pick me up, there was no seat belt in the rear seat. The driver had tucked them under the seat, so I made him pull them back out. As we drove along a semi-freeway, the center divider was giant potted plants instead of a guard rail. Good luck if you happen to drift into one of those without a seat belt.

sjm-lbm 2y ago
To be fair, the automatic belt "fad" was more interesting than that. For a brief time in the 80s (and into the early 90s), cars were required to have either automatic seat belts or airbags. Generally speaking, air bags were more expensive during that time period, so automatic seat belts were more popular.