Fair weather cops 2735

Yup. A good friend of mine ALWAYS wears his seat belt. I wear mine most of the time, but this guy just ALWAYS has it on. A couple months ago, he loaded up some garbage to take to the dump (he has no trash service where he lives). The local garbage dump for him is about 15 miles away on mostly rural highway, 30-55MPH. This particular morning, he forgot to put his seat belt on. He says he's still not sure how that happened, but hey . . . poo HAPPENS. He lives in a primary enforcement state. He was pulled over in a 30MPH zone, and he had been doing exactly 30MPH when he saw the cop, as he was aware that the area was a HEAVY traffic enforcement area. At roadside, the cop asked him if he knew why he'd been pulled over. He thought about it a few moments and then replied (honestly) that he had no idea why he was pulled over. Then the statie mentioned something about seat belts and only THEN did he realize that he WASN'T WEARING IT!!! Yes, he got a hefty fine. Did that fine do anything to improve safety at all? Nope, not a bit. He got fined for being forgetful. If the cop hadn't issued a primary enforcement ticket for seat belt use, THIS is what would have happened:

He would have continued on to the garbage dump, unloaded his garbage, got back in his car, buckled his seatbelt and drove home. Instead, he has to pay a large fine. His local government is happy.

I have some friends who never wear a seatbelt but just drape it over their shoulder when a cop is around. So it is truly ironic that the one guy I know who ALWAYS wears it is the only guy I personally know who's ever been ticketed for not wearing a seatbelt. At least, he's the only guy I know who's gotten a ticket for (no seatbelt) and nothing else to go with it. A couple of friends have been nabbed for speeding AND (no seatbelt).

It would be interesting to learn how many people normally DO wear their seatbelts, but have been ticketed for not wearing it. -Dave