The Victorian Government has recently launched an advertising campaign aimed at seatbelt awareness, using testimonies from car accident victims and those gory accident recreations they like to do. The whole reason for this is that 40 years ago, the Victorian Government was the first in the world to make seatbelt wearing mandatory. They play this message at the end of those ads, as if to brag, using, "40 years ago, something clicked," as the tag line.
As an avid opponent of the idea of a "nanny state", these ads annoy me incredibly. It should not be considered an achievement to have to force people to be safe in their cars. It should be considered an educational failure. Unfortunately, this is just one example of many paternalisms which the state and federal governments have inflicted on the people. I will continue to maintain that as long as these laws and policies are in effect, that we are not living in a free society. It's time people woke up to this fact and started doing something about it.
2 comments:
Only idiots need to be forced to wear a seatbelt, personally, I find the things way overrated. If it's a slow crash, then they're great, but if you speed into someone, well, you're fucked anyway.
Seatbelts are always an asset. Even if they only put you an inch further away from serious injury, that inch could be the difference between life and death. I just don't like that we're forced to wear them.
It's the same deal with bicycle helmets. Freedom of choice > forced safety.
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