Deputies set to enforce seat-belt law

I found this story in the Joplin Globe online.
Area law-enforcement agencies are going to set up patrol this weekend in rural areas to give tickets to unbuckled motorists. Lori Marble, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Transportation's district office, has outlined the pilot program, which will funnel funds into 10 different Southwest Missouri counties. The ten counties are: Jasper, Newton, McDonald, Barry, Christian, Greene, Lawrence, Stone, Taney and Webster. This money will pay for police officers to work overtime to "saturate roads", starting this weekend until the end of the month. There was a recent survey that stated that "over 1/3 of Southwest Missouri drivers fail to regularly use seat belts." The national seat belt average is 84% of people using them: Missouri's average is 77%: and the 10-county area is 66% usage. This means that within this 10-county area, there is a 11% drop of seat belt usage. The report said, "Of the 45 traffic fatalities between 2005 to 2007 in Jasper County, 30 of the people were not wearing safety belts, according to statistics compiled by MoDOT." "In Newton County, 36 out of 56 traffic fatalities involved victims who were not wearing seat belts." "McDonald County revealed 36 fatalities for the same period, with 22 of the victims not wearing seat belts."

My first reaction was that the government shouldn't be trying to control everything so much. After reading the article and reading the number of people who died because of not wearing seat belts, I have changed my mind. I am on a fence right now, not sure which side I like better.

I have had 2 people in my life who have died from not wearing seat belts. My Aunt Kristy when she was 17, and a friend of mine from school, who was 19, both of these people were not wearing seat belts. I can't help but tell myself that if either of them had been wearing their seat belts, then they may still be here today. My husband and I had an argument about this article, we both agree with wearing seat belts, but my husband thinks it shouldn't be a law. He thinks people should have their own choice on wearing seat belts or not. If they get into a car accident, then they are not hurting anyone else except themselves, so why is it a law? I completely understand his view, but I am more stuck on the fact that not wearing a seat belt influences our children. My son asks me all the time "how come Daddy never wears his seat belt?" What am I supposed to tell him? I just tell him because Daddy's stubborn and he's an adult so he makes his own decisions. I also tell my son that he has to wear one because it's safer. My son and I also had a conversation about his booster seat; we figured out that he has to be 80 lbs to not use one. He later asked me how big he has to be to not wear his seat belt. I told him until he dies. Seat belts are important and he must wear one at all times. It's hard for me to tell my son he has to wear a seat belt and have him watch his father not wear one. I know there are people out there who die because of the seat belt being worn, but I also know there are more deaths from not wearing them, then actually wearing them. So I think I will take my chance and always wear mine. I always wear my seat belt, and I notice if I don't have one on, I feel weird, like I'm missing something. So it's just a habit I have to just put it on as soon as i get into the vehicle.

Like my husband says, when you're 18 years old, you should be able to make your own decision as to if you want to wear a seat belt or not: because in all honesty, you aren't hurting anyone but yourself. On the other hand, my opinion, I believe seat belts may kill some people, but I also know they save more lives then they take. So I think police should buckle down with the seat belt law. It would be stupid not to. Plus, I believe it would keep our children safer, and become a great influence on their lives. If they see Mommy and Daddy wearing a seat belt, then they have no reason to argue to not wear one themselves.