Driving: Seat Belts

• Anybody other than small children should use them! No duh. In a lot of other things, I don't care if you do something stupid that can result in your death or injury. However, if your car goes out of control for whatever reason, using a seat belt can also help you stay in place, and therefore maintain or regain control, and therefore avoid hitting my car. Unsecured passengers flying/flailing about can also hinder the driver's efforts to maintain/regain control. Small children (i.e., toddlers or younger) are the exception, because they should be in child safety seats instead, which are in turn secured in place.

  (Some people tell anecdotes about incidents in which someone was saved by not wearing a seat belt, or was killed or injured because they were wearing one. These are extreme rarities, with their frequency paling in comparison to that of their opposites. Listen to the news, and hear how often they say something like "None of the deceased were wearing seat belts. One passenger, who was wearing a seat belt, survived with minor injuries.")

• Airbags are not a substitute! Even with airbags, you should still use a seatbelt, to hold you in place so the airbag will protect you. An airbag coming out of the steering wheel isn't much good if you've been jolted over to the middle of the windshield.

• Automatic shoulder belts are not a substitute! You should still use a lap belt. Otherwise, in an accident, you could slide under the shoulder belt and be squashed in the footwell.