I was driving down I-25 the other day and I saw one of those signs on the highway that said, "Click-it or Ticket". I started thinking about the implicatons of a law that requires drivers to wear a seatbelt. From a liberty perspective, a person should be able to do whatever he or she wants as long as it does not harm the person or property of another. Does not wearing a seatbelt pose any harm to another person or person's property? Perhpas you could get into a crash and you're body could go flying out of the car and and slam into another car. I guess in this senario, your body does cause damage to another person's property. Beyond this senario, I can not think of any cases in wear not wearing your seatbelt causes harm to another person or persons property.
I feel that wearing your seatbelt is a great idea. The addition of seatbelts in cars have saved many lives. We should all wear seatbelts while in our cars. However, I do not feel that the government should be able to fine its citizens for not wearing a seatbelt. An automobile is the private property of the person inside. The Only danger possed by a driver not wearing the seatbelt is directed toward the driver, and nobody else.
Rational people can make a value judgement as to whether or not they wear a seatbelt. If car manufactures were not required to put seatbelts in cars, we would still see them in cars, even if they cost extra as an option, because consumers would have a demand for the belts.
I feel that seatbelt laws are unnessary, and in the case of click-it or ticket, are a violation of our personal liberties.
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"If car manufactures were not required to put seatbelts in cars, we would still see them in cars, even if they cost extra as an option, because consumers would have a demand for the belts."
Since you recognize that seat belts would be an extra cost if they were offfered, do you think that the auto manufacturesrs therefore "eat" the cost of the seatbelts, or do you think they pass the cost to the manufacturer. Furthermore, do you think that that cost is maybe inflated since the seat belt is an option which cannot be avoided? I wonder if the cost of a seatbelt system is in the $1000 area? I also wonder what the cost of an automobile would be IF the regulations government has required on vehicles were just options. Would it subtract $5000-$6000?
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