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Wearing a seat belt, or attaching a safety rope isn't some subjective gray area of risk though.


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I don't wear a seatbelt because I'm stereotyping the driver of my car as a dangerous driver though, nor am I stereotyping other drivers either.

Risk is the combination of chance of occurence with effect. If the effect is large then a tiny chance is worth making active protections against.

Given what we've seen in the past few years and how such incidents appear to be on the increase, the chance doesn't even seem that tiny.


You wear your seat belt, right? That's obviously a risk you already take seriously, so I'd not take it for a bound on tolerance for risk.

"less likely" risks are still worth protecting against!

I still put my seat-belt on, even though there's an airbag in the car.


Just because seatbelts are "truly protective" that doesn't mean that getting into accidents is risk free.

You think not wearing a seatbelt only endangers you?

Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of dying in the accident. Doesn't mean the accident doesn't occur.

If you don't wear a seatbelt and are in an accident you are much more likely to hurt others than if you do wear a seatbelt.

Unfortunately, not wearing a seat belt isn't a risk borne just by the one in the seat. There have been cases of people flying out of their window and battering someone with their body due to not wearing a seat belt. Of course, everything carries a risk of harm to someone else, its a matter of where to draw the line.

Do we need seatbelts? You can also just keep out of accidents.

Seatbelts are risk mitigation, but I guess you still wouldn't be happy if someone crashed their car into yours.

Seat belts are also not an absolute ward against death in an accident.

We're not talking about other things. We're talking about seatbelts.

A seat belt protects you from real & practical scenarios, not just nightmare scenarios.

What about having airbags? or driving a bigger car than everyone else? or not driving faster than 15, 30, 55, 70? Or not driving at night? Or in the rain or snow?

I always wear a setbelt and when I climbed was roped in, but to claim these generally acceptable risk mitigation techniques aren't subjective is just claiming your beliefs are everyone's beliefs. That's not true.


Some people miracously avoid death by not wearing a seat belt, yet the statistics prove wearing it is still a much better option.

Calling them safe is an abstraction that simplifies the conversation. Seat belts are meant to keep you alive at all costs. Often they're very damaging. But calling them unsafe muddies the conversation.

People die wearing seatbelts. They are still safer than not wearing seatbelts.

I don't wear a seat belt, because I do my best not to get into accidents.

"Are you happy risking death because I don't want to wear a seat belt?" doesn't seem like it needs much "working out".
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