Mandating Seat Belt Usage vs. Freedom of Choice SOC120: Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibilities 1 How do you feel when you are told what you will or will not do? You may be told that it is for your own good, but who has the right to decide what is or is not good for you? After all who knows you better than you do? This brings me to the topic of my discussion. Even though there are some statistics that may show a lower rate of injury or death if you wear a seat belt when in an automobile accident, I do not feel that the government has the right to make wearing a seat belt mandatory for adults because by making seat belts mandatory it takes away from our right to freedom of choice, and wearing a seat …show more content…
That no one has the right to decide what is right for them, and that no one should be able to mandate what they have to or do not have to do. This topic is no different to them than say, flying in an airplane. No one tells them that they have to fly in an airplane, which requires putting their life at risk, yet they themselves make the decision to do so or not. According to our text, Utilitarianism evaluates whether an act is right or wrong in terms of the act's consequences, and argues that, given a set of choices, the act we should choose is that which produces the best results for the greatest number affected by that choice. To break it down even further, the rule utilitarian contends that one should do things that, as a rule, generate the greatest good for the greatest number (Mosser, K, 2010). I believe this to be the philosophy that the government has taken into account when establishing the seat belt mandate laws. They, being those who make these types of laws, are in fact looking out for what they believe is the greater good for the majority involved. They are not taking into account our god given freedom to make these types of choices for ourselves. On the other hand, those who oppose the passage of this law error on the ethical egoism philosophy. This philosophy argues that our moral evaluations should be made in terms of our desires and goals. Something that promotes what I want is regarded as right; something that
There are many people who do not understand the importance of seat belts for safety. They do not wear their seat belts even though they know the mortality statistics. Most of them think that seat belts do not help when an accident occurs. We have all made the excuse that the seat belt is uncomfortable. Driving is a dangerous duty that should always be practiced with more caution and care. Some people think that not wearing a seatbelt is rebellious. Other people think that they will never get into accident. Some of the consequences of not wearing a seat belt is that you could die, you can get injured and many more. So far, the only way to avoid these consequences from happening is to wear a seatbelt.
Imagine enjoying a movie at the cinemas, eating food at McDonalds, or even sitting in class with a group of friends at your local high school, while some individuals around you are carrying loaded firearms. Although this seems unbelievable, the United States Constitutions give people the right to acquire and carry firearms. It is ridiculous that they allow their citizens to carry handguns, such as pistols. This should be strictly limited, due to that they are made exclusively for protection or the police. Due to this law, the murder rate in the United States have increased and this allows children to handle guns and possible kill other family members or other children. Gut-wrenching events like this can happen in a blink of an eye.
Recently, a primary seat belt law was proposed during a legislative meeting for our state. The law would allow for drivers to be pulled over specifically for not wearing their seat belts. Currently, only 77 percent of Montanans buckle-up. This is much lower than the national average of 88 percent and significantly less than Texas, Washington, and Oregon, where fines ranging from $110 to $200 likely play a part in about 94 percent of people buckling up. Similar bills were proposed in Montana in 2011 and 2013, but they did not pass. Whether the primary seat belt law goes through or not, there are several things you can do to help prevent anyone in your family from suffering a personal injury in a vehicle accident.
The three principles of utilitarianism are “1. All ‘pleasures’ or benefits are not equal, 2. The system presumes that one can predict the consequences of one’s actions, and 3. There is little concern for individual rights” (Pollock,
According to NHTSA, 13,941 lives were saved by seat belts in 2015 while an additional 2,814 could have been saved if properly restrained (2017). One impact of seat belt usage is reducing the risk serious or fatal injuries by about half. The CDC reported in 2009, 53% of occupants killed in crashes in the U.S. were not wearing seat belts (2014). According to data collected in 2008 by NHTSA, seat belts have saved an estimated 225,000 lives (2009). The benefit of wearing a seat belt can help increase chances of surviving a crash with little or no
The law should not require people to wear seat belts because wearing them is a person’s choice and they can cause injuries.
“The Fraud of Seat-Belt Laws” by William J. Holdorf is more focused on seat-belt laws than seat belts themselves. Holdorf discusses that the seat-belts laws are more concerned with generating money than actually protecting citizens (1). Holdorf writes, “Once seatbelt laws were passed in any form, supporters returned each legislative session to lobby for amendments, such as including all occupants, increasing fines, eliminating exemptions, and changing to primary enforcement, so that the police could stop a motorist merely under suspicion of not using a seat belt” (1). The argument here against seat belts, specifically the laws pertaining to them, is that police can pull anyone over with the intent to fine them for not wearing their seatbelt. Horford continues that seat belt laws are a “loss of freedom” and that the expenses to implement the law are putting a burden on society and “infringe a person’s rights as guaranteed in the Fourth, Fifth, and the Ninth Amendments” (2). The debt on society is an understandable argument but the idea of infringing on someone’s rights does not make sense, at least relating to this context. It does not make sense for someone to prefer a life of chronic pain from severe injuries or even death of themselves or a family member than simply a few bruises or even get away from a crash perfectly clean. How can someone not want to protect
When trying to determine whether or not it is proper to put someone in jail for violating the seat belt law courts must examine the state’s statutes to determine whether or not an arrest could be deemed a violation of the citizens Fourth Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment provides the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Historically courts have evaluated these cases by first determining if probable cause existed to make the arrest. Next, they look at the reasonableness of the arrest, with reasonableness being measured as an objective standard, not by the arresting officers state of mind.
Imagine this, a church bus crashed into a truck the driver and 12 passengers on the bus died not including the truck driver who died also. But that actually happened in Concan, Texas. Why? They were all wearing seat belts, the seat belts just prevented them from evacuating Now that is really sad, this is why I feel there should be no seat belts on a bus. Seat belts on a bus should not be required because of the expense they bring and if there is an emergency it would take longer for the person to evacuate out of the seat belt.
We have all heard the excuses before, "It's uncomfortable, I'm only going around the corner", I'd rather be thrown out of a car than be stuck in a seatbelt," and my favorite, "I'm a good driver I don't need to wear one." Well you may be a good driver but there are situations beyond your control such as bad weather, road conditions and not to mention other drivers that can affect your safety. Seat belts can mean the difference between life and death in an auto accident. Wearing a seat belt every time you enter a vehicle is not only the smart thing to do it is the right thing because it saves lives, it's the law and it will save you money.
Automobiles have been around for over a century. They help people get around town as technology improves over the years. Now with better fuel economy, we are excited to be driving around for many miles over the road. Although many of our cars have change overtime, the one thing that has never change is the seat belt that’s near our car doors. Whenever you get in any car on the road, its important that we depend on people to wear seat belts. Seat Belts are the ones we must wear before we head out on our cars. Its protect drivers from injuries sustain from crashes. Seat Belt inspire many states laws in America, but sometimes not all seat belt laws are mandatory. Only one state in the United States didn’t have any seat belts laws at all with the exception of the booster seat law. Anytime we get in our car, we always depend on seat belts to protect drivers from serious injuries or
The Guelph Police Service wish to remind motorists that it only takes about 5 seconds to buckle up which can save lives. There are drivers who still opt not to buckle up, or don’t require a passenger to buckle up, while on the road. Starting October 1st, 2016, members of the Guelph Police will be cracking down on drivers, and passengers, who are not properly secured in their vehicle.
Seatbelts is an excellent topic to write about for essay number two. I agree with you that seatbelts will drastically increase ones chances of surviving a car accident. One could argue though that seatbelts can also kill you in a car accident. While I myself know it to be true, that the odds of surviving while wearing a seatbelt compared to not are extremely high, not everyone knows that. A lot of people hear stories of freak cases in which people died wearing seatbelts, and use this as a reason not to wear a seatbelt. Statistically speaking, more people survive if they are wearing a seatbelt than if they are not. I know quite a few states have seatbelt laws in place such as the click it or ticket campaign, do you agree with this?
The similarity between act utilitarianism and ethical egoism are both contained large number of sub-theories within each branch which are the value placed between the individual and others. Both ethical egoism and act utilitarianism are allow an individual to put himself or herself first in determining the right action to take in a particular situation whether the particular action is right or wrong. This is different from pure selflessness which
An enormous division currently exists between the people who believe that automobile safety should be an option and those that feel it must be a requirement. The federal government feels the morally obligated to create the safest driving environment possible. On the other end of the spectrum, opinions exist that the average driver has ability to make the choice of safety on their own. Editorials, political assemblies, debates, and conversations have arrived on the concept of click it or ticket. This idea refers to ticketing any motor vehicle driver and passenger that is not fastened by a seat belt. Arguments have been made for both sides, and have been reviewed in multiple states.