[clevermax]

Here goes my concern! But I am sure it applies to many of us.

After repeated pleading to my father to use seat belts, by explaining the safety it provides and the danger involved in not using it while driving, he seems not to use it at all when I am not around. How can I make him want to wear seat belts on his own?

I set an example every time I buckle up when I am in the car with him, and also by asking him to buckle up. The only way to make him do is to tell that cops are watching for front passengers/drivers without seat belts! But I do not want to promote seat belts with this reason.

The point is, major percentage of drivers here are wearing seat belts for escaping cops and they are not at all aware of the safety it provides. We need to make our friends/family aware of why we need to wear seat belts in the first place, be it a rule or not.

Please provide some suggestions, I feel guilty for not being successful in enforcing it for my parents, still.

[Mods, please move/merge this with thread if needed, I searched for one but couldn't find any]

[McLaren Rulez]

Totally agree. I've tried to get my parents to wear them too. But they only wear it if I insist on it and I'm in the car. When they go on drives alone, I'm pretty sure they don't. I too would love to get a solution for this.

[condor]

On one of my long drives, I had got my cousins to wear belts. They were reluctant initially, but I was pleasantly surprised when my sis commented that she felt less tired with the seat belt on. The reason was less "throws" or movement when sitting with the belt on.

@clevermax, try this with your father on the longer journeys. Hopefully he will get used to it and start wearing the belt more often.

IIRC, one of our fellow members had mentioned that he makes it a point to not start the vehicle till all passengers wear their belts. I am not sure this will work always, though.

[crackingride]

One decent, hard-braking, panic stop preferably from highway (low) triple-digit speeds and tail sliding action will be enough to knock any sense about seat belts into anyone, in my opinion.

Heck, without going into Newton's laws of Motion, a body will keep travelling at the speed it was travelling at unless impeded (1st law), and the object that impedes it will exert a force that is directly an equal and opposite reaction (3rd law) to the force the body exerts due to its mass multiplied by its acceleration (2nd law).

So even if you weigh 50 kgs, and are travelling at 25 kmph, the Force of an unrestrained body is a product of the mass and the acceleration. Its a multiplying force, which means the force felt (and then reciprocated!) is higher than you think.

Thats also why you do get injuries from seatbelts (which reciprocate the force of you hitting it), and why airbags are present to soften the blow!

[hvkumar]

Try doing some hard braking when such reluctant people are around so that they get used to the safety and comfort of the seat belt!

[longford]

The parents generation never had anything called seatbelts. Just be patient with them and do it for them everytime with a smile. After sometime, like baapu ne bola type, they will feel it and will start doing it by themselves to avoid you doing it for them. Also, explain to them the following:
1. Car wont move without seat belts on front passengers. Just wait there.
2. 500 bucks fine, will not be borne by the driver but by the defaulting passenger

[muke31]

I notice that there is an increasing trend in people wearing seat belts now comparing few years ago, people should be highlighted on the risks of not wearing seat belts.

each individual should makes sure they educate atlease one new person and make them understand that wearing seat belt is for their own safety and not for the sake of cops.

I make sure i wear seat belt even before starting my car and also insists every one and everytime to wear seat belt.

Schools should introduce lessons on Road safety and make sure they teach students about seat belts and basic details about safety.


-MUKE

[anachronix]

@ Clevermax, you can help your father to take a look at the 'Accidents in India' thread and try to explain a few incidents where an injury could have been avoided if the so & so person was wearing a seat belt.

Unless & until a person is made aware of the danger/ill-effects of not wearing seat belts while inside a car, there is no other way you can make them feel they should wear the belts.

[pb10gagan]

Make the person read the "Accidents in India" thread.

[longford]

Originally Posted by crackingride

Heck, without going into Newton's laws of Motion, a body will keep travelling at the speed it was travelling at unless impeded (1st law), and the object that impedes it will exert a force that is directly an equal and opposite reaction (3rd law) to the force the body exerts due to its mass multiplied by its acceleration (2nd law).

So even if you weigh 50 kgs, and are travelling at 25 kmph, the Force of an unrestrained body is a product of the mass and the acceleration. Its a multiplying force, which means the force felt (and then reciprocated!) is higher than you think.

And hope and pray that the passengers dont curse and beat you up for braking so hard and disturbing their peace of mind. Driving kahan se sikh ke aaya hai?

[ACM]

Seat belts also make one feel less tired as every time one brakes the co passengers are not thrown upfront.

If you adopt a "braky" driving style he may want to tie the seat belt just to feel confortable.

Of if he falls asleep while you drive a braky stop could make him value the seat belt even more.

That said these need to be done very carefully.

A few snaps of what happened to persons who did not wear seat belts of reports of how people survived horrific crashes just because they were wearing the setbelt may also help.

[crackingride]

Originally Posted by longford

And hope and pray that the passengers dont curse and beat you up for braking so hard and disturbing their peace of mind. Driving kahan se sikh ke aaya hai?

I thought the whole purpose of this thread WAS to disturb their peace of mind and get them to wear the belt henceforth!!

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Try doing some hard braking when such reluctant people are around so that they get used to the safety and comfort of the seat belt!

This is a very good suggestion and it works I have done it multiple times on many people and have succeeded. Another way to do it is to take them to a trauma center (Like NIMHANS in Bangalore) and give them first hand experience of seeing accident folks being brought into the hospital. Even this is sure shot way to make people use safety restraint and as well as to make people drive defensively.

[longford]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Interviewer: The helmet has a special meaning for many drivers! How important is it to you?

Kimi: It protects my head..

@anachronix Your signature reminds me of a fundu book I read called Anguished English by Richard Lederer. Must read book. Read it at your risk for hillarious laughter induced by amazing use of english language.

Looks like you have been through the rigors of Gaul and Asterix and Obelix, going by your handle

[SamtheLeo]

+ 1 to HvKumar

However how it worked in my case is

1. By watching the Accident in India Thread Daily :(
2. The new Punto which my wife bought has such a screeching reminder beep of not wearing a seat belt that you cannot tolerate it for 10 secs , where in it goes on till 2:30 mins, so it became a habbit & as a habbit now I wear in Scorpio as well