Why Do So Many Drivers Shun Seatbelts?

[Milvus]

LV the car insurers have just completed a survey that shows 6% of drivers don't wear seat belts (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-29416372). A bigger total would result if you added in passengers I expect.
The value of wearing a seatbelt doesn't seem in question to me.

Do you wear seat belts as a driver?
Do you wear seat belts as a passenger in a car?
Do you wear seat belts as a passenger in a taxi?

[Tilly2]

Yes
yes
yes.
....and I always insist that my passengers do too.

[horseshoes]

Me too Tilly.

[paddywak]

Yes
Yes
Usually,it depends on the length of the journey

[Baldric]

Yes
Yes
Yes

Just found this on 'Findlaw.co.uk'
///On a bus or coach, or in a taxi, passengers 14 and older must wear seat belts if they are fitted.///

[TWR]

Yes
Yes
Yes
But I also think each and every car SHOULD have a knife within reach in case of an accident to quickly remove the belt.

[islasmum]

Yes
Yes
Probably - I haven't taken a taxi for ages!

[andy-hughes]

I have worn a seat belt since the first time I sat behind the wheel of a car, which was in 1970 - way before the law compelled me so to do.

It seemed like a no-brainer to me, and always has done.

My dad, who taught me to drive, always used to huff and puff at me when I asked him to wear his belt, but he did wear it, and eventually got him into the habit, which saved his life in a crash a few years later.

I think people have some bizarre idea of 'freedom to choose' when it comes to seat belts, combined with the fact that some people find them uncomfortable.

I don't express freedom on the way of not wearing a seatbelt, and compared with the discomfort of a quick trip through a windscreen, I'll take the belt any time.

[paddywak]

Some thing like this TWR,breaks toughened glass and cuts belts.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p65512?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=googleshopping&utm_campaign=googleshopping&mkwid=mZW1GXus&pcrid=46334936183&;gclid=CJrivuy9iMECFRMatAodTC0AtQ

[TWR]

It's as simple as that Paddywak, a lot have been trapped due to the belt.

[ToraToraTora]

yes x 3
In fact I feel strangley nervous if the car is moving and I haven't got my seat belt on! I had no idea so many did not wear them in UK, I knew it was common in the US not to wear them.

[jomifl]

Yes to all. I also fasten my seatbelt before starting the engine instead of trying to put it on whilst negotiating a car park and using a mobile phone.

[EcclesCake]

Yes
Yes
Very rarely

[bhg481]

Yes
Yes
Never use taxis, but some of our local buses have them, so Yes.

I think it's the "no-one's going to tell me what to do" attitude that makes people not wear them.

[RATTER15]

Yes
Yes
Yes

I know it doesnt make sense but given the opportunity I probably would not. I have been ticketed about 5 times for not wearing a seat belt. These days it isnt so easy to get away with it so now I conform and always wear one.

[dave50]

Why do they make laws to protect people from themselves?

[Khandro]

Yes, like jomifl, I too fasten my seat belt before starting the engine based on the theory that I save about 7 seconds worth of petrol each time. I have never done the calculation but like to think this saves me about a gallon a year. :0)

[RATTER15]

I have an automatic alarm that makes a terrible noise if I don't put my seatbelt on. She means well :-)

[Old_Geezer]

I use them a vast majority of the time as a driver or front seat passenger. More rarely at the back, but there again I'm rarely travelling there. Taxi makes no difference. Some may shun them because they are restrictive, or perhaps because it should be a personal choice but authority imposes once more.

[RATTER15]

dave50, //Why do they make laws to protect people from themselves?// because it saves the NHS billions in looking after idiots like me!

[Old_Geezer]

It's that Big Brother attitude that could eventually get us all walking around in mattress suits and needing a pass to go somewhere dangerous like the kitchen, garden, or even out on the street. Folk pass their taxes, they are entitled to have someone paid to scrape up their remains after an accident.