'The Jerk That Flirts With Death'Frankly, I'm not much for nanny-state laws. I'd just as soon the government stayed out of my life as much as possible. Mandatory seat belt and motorcycle helmet laws are examples of the nanny-state approach.
In September the Daily Nebraskan, the student newspaper at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, published a column by Derek Kieper that argued against mandatory seat-belt laws:
As laws become increasingly strict for seat belts, fewer people will respond positively by buckling up in response to the laws. There seems to be a die-hard group of non-wearers out there who simply do not wish to buckle up no matter what the government does. I belong to this group. . . .
Telling me to wear my seat belt is the same as making sure I have some sort of proper education before diving into a swimming pool. If I want to dive in without knowing how to swim, that is my right. And if I want to be the jerk that flirts with death and rides around with my seat belt off, I should be able to do that, too.
Today's Lincoln Journal Star reports the sad ending of the Kieper story:
Kieper, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, died early Tuesday morning when the Ford Explorer he was a passenger in travelled off an icy section of Interstate 80 and rolled several times in a ditch. . . . Derek, who was thrown from the vehicle, was not wearing a seat belt.
When you flirt with death, you run the risk that death has something more serious in mind.
Here's what I'd do instead - if you want to drive without your seatbelt or ride a motorcyle without a helmet, fine, go ahead. However your decision to do that will automatically exempt you from receiving any government funds for care you might need after you've bounced down the highway on your head and become a 24/7 drooler. You (and your estate) will also be barred from suing ANYONE for your injuries.
If you dare, we don't care.
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