A common viewpoint expressed here that I strongly agree with is that THERE ARE NO VICTIMLESS CRIMES. On possible, and probably the best, path to building a modern libertarian society out of the government we have today involves taking things step by step. Something I think is a necessary step is repealing those laws that exist solely for the purpose of government interference in the lives of the people, and while small things, are necessary to remove to proceed. One example is seatbelt laws, and for those of you who disagree…
Repealing Chapter 90: Section 13A in Massachusetts--Seat Belt Laws
Picture this: a beautiful chocolate creme cake with cherries, chocolate mousse and triple sec, whipped cream frosting and chocolate crumbles on the sides, so delicious even the toughest of food critics’ mouths water at the sight and the taste, oh I can’t even describe the taste. Would you like to try this cake? Well, you can’t! Because of its sugar and fat content, this cake has been deemed unhealthy and has been banned. Imagine a world where you are not allowed to do anything damaging to your health, not even eat dessert. This world may seem terrible, but in some ways, it is the world in which we live. I am forced to wear a seatbelt even though it affects no else but me. My safety should be my responsibility, no one else’s. So as citizens of this democracy we live in, I ask you to put my safety in my hands, which means, repeal seat belt laws.
Seat belt laws do not belong in our state for many reasons. Not wearing seat belts does not affect anyone else so they have no justification, seat belt laws increase the effects of a police racial bias, and in some cases seat belts can be dangerous. Plus, here in Massachusetts, even though we have the second lowest seat belt wearing rate in the country, we have lowest driver fatality rate of any state. Therefore, it is your job as voters and free people, to rid Massachusetts of seat belt laws.
These laws really have no justification. Seat belt wearing does not affect other people, which is all that should matter for a law. The only tiny effect of not wearing seat belts is slightly more money spent on medical care. But the American taxpayers aren’t really paying for it, the insurance companies are. In fact, the NHTSA, national highway traffic safety administration, ran the numbers to find out that not wearing seat belts, costs the people of America, a whopping 90 cents each a year! 90 cents a year, that is almost as much money as I have seen lying on the ground in coins today! There is another cost, but this one doesn’t actually exist. That’s emergency service people. The idea that using them costs taxpayers’ money just isn’t true. They make a salary, they are not paid per incident. And ambulance fees are paid by the insurance companies or the patient, no one else is penalized. And yes, sometimes these traffic accidents require more people to be put on duty, but that has nothing to do with whether or not anyone was wearing a seat belt. Seat belts are not magic, emergency service people would be there anyways. Seat belts do not affect other people. Our laws should be about preventing people from harming others, and that is not the case for seat belt laws.
These laws are not just unnecessary, they are enforced unfairly. A report released by the U.S Justice Department in 2013 found that certain races are treated worse than others by police officers on account of seat belt violations even though they are equally likely to obey these laws. African Americans are 31% more likely to be pulled over than other races for seat belt violations, and Native Americans are over 50% more likely than other races. While taking away primary seat belt laws obviously would not solve all traffic police racism, the same report found it would lessen the effects of a police racial bias by 7%. Though that is not addressing an inherent racial bias in policing, it is addressing a large part of the issue, the overinvolvement of government in the lives of citizens. The point is, we do not need more excuses for people to be pulled over, especially when that is leading to unfair racial profiling.
Seat belts can be more dangerous to wear than not for people under four foot nine. Some adults face these dangers, but mostly, the people at risk are small children. Initially, wearing seat belts lead to a 10 percent increase in fatalities in children, due to a large increase in deathly abdominal, spinal, and head injuries. However, there’s a solution: booster seats. Sitting in a booster seat makes buckling up a lot safer, but these seats are not cheap. Car seats, which do have to meet federal safety regulations, cost upwards of 75 dollars and for parents that number is multiplied because the have to buy different models as their child grows. That is a lot of money to prevent government-forced seat belts from becoming a safety hazard. The government should at the very least pay for this, but obviously they don’t, so it is your money that you have to spend to avoid putting yourself or your children at risk. With these laws, not only are people being forced to do something that affects no one besides them, but for many, it’s expensive.
When the idea of passing the laws first arose, they were very unpopular. Numerous polls of U.S. citizens taken right after their proposal, both in Massachusetts and around the country, showed a 75% opposition. So, if these laws are both awful and unpopular, why do we have them? Money. Big, greedy, insurance lobbyists led large advertising campaigns in their favor and persuaded government representatives to write these laws. The entire fight for seat belt laws was lead by a team of insurance companies, we
never wanted these. And yet, we have them.
But it is never too late; all we need is one ballot measure to take away these laws from Massachusetts, so we can take back our freedom and rid our state of a law that puts short people at risk, that costs parents a lot of money, that fines us for being comfortable, and is an excuse used by racist police officers. Do not worry, this will not make our streets more dangerous. You can still wear a seatbelt, and I recommend doing so, but you should not be fined if you don’t. After all, we do live in America, a nation founded on freedom, a nation that for over 240 years has done nothing but fight tyranny. In this land, if you want cake, you have cake. So if I want to unbuckle, let me.
While this was written in the context of my home state, Massachusetts (I believe almost all matters should be settled at the state level without going to the federal government for non-federal issues), I do think it is applicable to almost all governments that have these and while the statistics may not be transferable, the argument is.
As always I love to here feedback. I know, being on steemit, this may not receive the opposition it usually does but even if you agree you may have something to contribute and I encourage you to do so. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Thank you.
- ə