A few days ago, I rode without a seatbelt! Shocking, I know. It’s not like this was the first time or anything. It’s just that in this situation I don’t have a choice, no option to forget. Somehow that lack of option makes it a bigger deal (and thus worthy of a blog post…)
I was offered a ride up to a meeting. Upon getting into the car, however, I was informed that the passenger seatbelt was jammed. Why not drive? I didn’t know where we were going. Why not climb into the backseat? 2-seater. No problem. I’ll suck it up and take a ride on the dangerous side. (It’s funny – or maybe sad – what constitutes as excitement in my life sometimes.)
Anyway, as I tried to sit comfortably and not focus on the fact that the smallest mistake by the trucker near us could send me flying through the soft-top roof or windshield, I couldn’t help but miss the black, 2-inch wide feeling of security that used to be considered such a nuisance growing up.
“Is everybody buckled up?” A chorus of yes’s responded, the children silently hoping no one would turn around to expose the lie. To a child, a seatbelt is an unecessary restriction. What if you drop your crayon/book/video game? Or what if your brother’s too far away to poke mercilessly when you’re bored? See. Seatbelts are a burden to all those under the age of 14.
As I got older and spent more time in a car behind the wheel than not, seatbelts became less of an issue. They’re not all the uncomfortable once you’re a certain height or restrictive within a certain weight range. (Yet another case in which I am happy to be “smaller.” I don’t have an imposing bosom to raise another unique issue related to seatbelt comfort.) But as a driver, you have to wear your seatbelt. The last thing I’d want to deal with is being pulled over b/c I was too lazy to buckle up. Speeding? Sure. Cutting someone off? Ok. Broken tail light? Thanks for letting me know. But a seat belt?! You’ve got to be kidding me.
So that’s it. I’ve ridden without a seatbelt. No accidents, injuries or tickets have resulted. But just the fact that I have no option to ignore my seatbelt bothered me, made me think I’d bought into the car-safety propaganda. Just like (although COMPLETELY different from) “No glove, no love”, “Guns don’t kill people”, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”, and “Only YOU can prevent wildfires”, “Click it or Ticket” and the gruesome images that usually accompany the slogan are burned into my brain.
What taglines have (un)fortunately stuck with you?
Jo’van
The Truth: According to Jo'van 