IF WRONG, JUST ADMIT IT, but if u have a MATTER of PRINCIPLE, STICK to YOUR PRINCIPLES
Oh, no, my friend, if u do something WRONG u should just ADMIT IT...not play "legal games" to "get out of" something..that wasn't my point at all...no way..if I do something wrong I do the MANLY THING & say so..I don't try to WEASEL OUT of something..heck no..never.
.I did NOT get up in front of court & falsely claim I WAS WEARING my seatbelt & that the officer was wrong..I was there to show the officer, himself, is the WEASEL...FOR writing seatbelt citations...in a very commercial area with lots of businesses & people are coming out of one parking lot & into the next (doing errands)...& that it defies the intent of the law & the spirit of the law (which is purported to be our own safety) to nitpick when it is not truly related to our safety & welfare.
The officer himself admitted the police dept is having a "tighter budget" than usual. & the lady before me was also contesting a seatbelt citation from officer storey..who gave her a ticket as she was waiting in a line of cars to pick up her kid from school (her "special kid", w/ autism)...(she also was from Pakistan & wore a sash of some sort & said the officer couldn't see the seatbelt behind the sash)
The officer also admitted he took an oath to uphold the constitution. That was my other point...to talk about the fact that a seatbelt is a safety device for one alleged purpose, to protect ONLY the person wearing it, & the state/country rarely gets into the "business" of enforcing self-protective devices, especially without allowing for a religious exemption .*
Jehovah's Witness, for example,can refuse a blood transfusion, even at the risk of their life, for religious reasons . There are certain religious objections to mandatory shots of one kind or another. In some organizations you can request a religious exemption from paying union dues because many Christians do not believe in unions (I myself inquired about this when I joined LAUSD ) & so it behooves the state to allow a person to NOT wear their seatbelt even if its at a person's own risk.
Have you ever gone to a public beach where a sign says, "SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK." That's the state (or city) saying they are not liable if you get hurt or drown.....that they do not have lifeguards at this beach & you must make your own decision whether you want to risk your life or not. Likewise, I contend we should be allowed to "DRIVE WITHOUT A SEATBELT AT OUR OWN RISK."
The argument that seatbelts saves lives & also keeps insurance costs down (as well as costs of emergency responders) is specious..because even , sad but true, BAD ACCIDENTS & death have an ECONOMIC BENEFIT. There are people whose livelihood depends upon people dying or getting hurt . If NOBODY died they would go out of business or be unable to pay a mortgage.
..So if the state is so interested in protecting insurance costs or costs of paramedics & fire crews (who they claim end up "prying" people out of windshields b/c they didn't have their seatbelts on...at so much more cost)...then they are doing so at the expense of funeral homes, hospitals, etc..I.e. morticians, doctors, nurses, chaplains, coroner, etc . Arguing the economic reason becomes meaningless, as you can see. If one wins, the other loses & vice-versa.
There is also LACK OF STATISTICAL EVIDENCE To support the efficacy of the seatbelt safety argument. The #'s have NOT been convincing (I will send you some of the stats I came across). There's also the possibility (supported by the stats) that wearing a seatbelt actually makes people drive LESS SAFELY (remember risk-compensation theory?)...& more pedestrians & bikers get hit.
I believe, for good reasons mentioned above, & others not mentioned (don't have that much time right now) that the seatbelt law is a TOTAL SCAM & a money-making machine for the state ; & that their failure to allow for a religious objection/exemption (I.e. I'm Christian & believe & trust in the providence of God..if its my time, its my time..just as I don't want to be kept on life support if I am brain dead) makes it all the more a scam.
I also didn't like the way Officer Storey treated me on the street & that added to my indignation. He admitted he calls people by their first name & I added, "in a condescending manner...?" to which he did not respond.
*(& apart from religious exemptions the state allows people to engage in activities that are a known risk to their own health: cigarette smoking is but one example that is still allowed by the state despite definite risks to health & which increases insurance premiums, fills needed hospital beds, etc)
