Hard to believe, but Georgia remains the only state in the union not to require seat belt usage of either the driver or passenger of a pickup truck.
Oh, Georgia legislators have been trying for years to get a law passed, but due to some rural legislators, who have resisted, no seat belt law is in place.
The reason? Wearing a seat belt is an inconvenience for farmers and farm workers, who frequently hop in and out of their pickups as they tend the fields, and that there is too little traffic on Georgia's back country farm roads to worry about the risk of a collision with another vehicle...
And so I ask, how is Georgia any different from any other state in this matter, especially neighboring states, that essentially farm the same crops?
Full story here at PickupTruck.com.
Image: PickupTruck.com
Full story here at PickupTruck.com.
Image: PickupTruck.com
ateixeira says:
09:27 AM, 07/27/07
Seems silly to me. If you're out on your own farm it's not like there would be any law enforcement around anyway.
This is a non-issue, IMO.
jriz says:
09:33 AM, 07/27/07
Well OK, if you're out bailing hay or puttering about doing other stuff on the farm it probably doesn't matter that you're not wearing a seat belt. On any road, let alone ones in Atlanta or Savannah, there's no reason not to have a seat belt law in place.
rsholland says:
10:03 AM, 07/27/07
Yeah, this is for highway use, and not in the fields.
classicjetta says:
10:07 AM, 07/27/07
Wow! I didn't know Georgia had such good drivers that they don't get in collisions that seriously injure or kill people. Anyway, it's not like non-freeway rural roads that most of those pickups are driving on are unsafe or anything. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_safety#Motorway
</sarcasm>
navigator89 says:
04:33 PM, 07/27/07
Wow I never knew about this rule, but it doesnt make sense because as you said how are neighboring states Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee any different?
Just because the roads have little traffic doesnt mean anything. You dont need traffic to have an accident. Isnt it still possible for a truck to get loose and spin out into a ditch or something?
210delray says:
08:57 PM, 07/27/07
Indiana had the same silly exemption for pickup truck occupants, but the state finally closed that loophole earlier this year.
I suppose most people aren't aware that nearly half of vehicle occupant fatalities occur in single-vehicle crashes. (And even if they do, they think they're such good drivers, it won't happen to them.)
BTW, New Hampshire has no seat belt law at all, the sole holdout for over a decade.
estreka says:
12:18 PM, 07/28/07
I could see a law that enforces the use of a seatbelt over a certain speed limit, say, 20mph. But I do agree that seatbelts aren't particularly effective below that.
seandean says:
07:20 AM, 06/20/09
WHO CARES?!!?!?!
All of you people who want to hold everyones hand make me sick.. all silly laws do is further encourage people to not use their damn brain
If you want to not wear a seatbelt, then thats your business. When you fly out of your car and die, thats also your business, your life.
Smoking should be illegal before any seatbelt laws are enforced (smoking actually hurts OTHER people). Most European countries have seatbelt laws, but the government pays for medical care in those countries so it only make sense. In those same countries, doctors get bonuses for getting more people to quit smoking and drinking.....oh my god... a country where laws make sense??? and you can't sue someone for driving into a tree or tripping over your own feet!!!
Until government in the US provides medical care for the people, they have ABSLUTELY NO F*!#IN RIGHT to tell anyone what risk they can/cant take with their own life and limb.
Personal accountability, LEARN IT