Got a ticket for the stupidest thing today.

[Arbitern1]

Guys, today i was coming home from college in my 66 Corvair with the top down. This car has no seatbelts as cars were not mandated to have them unless they were manufactured in 1966 or newer. Mine being a 66 was manufactured in 65 and had seat belts as a delete option. I have all the papers to prove this and the original build sheet.I keep a copy of this in my car at all times

"Cars manufactured after 1967 and vans, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles manufactured after 1971, are required by federal standards to have belts. Belts must be installed in these vehicles if the original seat belts have been removed. Vehicles brought in from other countries must be upgraded to conform with applicable federal motor vehicle standards. This means that passenger vehicles, light trucks and vans brought in from other countries must be fitted with belts if they were manufactured after the above date."

That passage is straight from the Tennessee Department of transportation..Anyway back to my story. I was cruising home on the highway and a police officer pulled me over for not wearing a seatbelt. I repeatedly asserted that since my car was manufactured prior to 1966 that it did not need seatbelts. I showed him the document stated. The officer was a real dickhole and insisted that i still had to have a seatbelt. I eventually caved knowing that if i continued to argue i would end up paying far more than a 20$ fine.

So what do you guys think about this. It's infuriating that this happened. I did get his name and i have a scheduled court date. I can just pay the 20$ fine and avoid going to court...Which is what i want to do. It's fucking irritating to get written a ticket for not wearing a seat belt when the car you are in is probably twice the age of the the officer.

[Hobie-wan]

I would fight it on principal. You were in the right and the cop was ignorant of the law. Ignorance of a law on your part wouldn't excuse you and it shouldn't excuse him either. If he doubted your information he surely could have called in for verification. You shouldn't pay if you were in the right and the cop needs to know so he doesn't make the mistake again. If you get snagged again at a later date by the same cop you'll have to dance again. Lots of people fight speeding tickets and try to get off on a technicality when they know they're breaking the law (which I think is stupid). You should fight it because you're in the right.

That being said, I think driving without a seat belt is stupid and I would install some and wear them.

[o.pwuaioc]

Guys, today i was coming home from college in my 66 Corvair with the top down. This car has no seatbelts as cars were not mandated to have them unless they were manufactured in 1966 or newer. Mine being a 66 was manufactured in 65 and had seat belts as a delete option. I have all the papers to prove this and the original build sheet.I keep a copy of this in my car at all times

"Cars manufactured after 1967 and vans, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles manufactured after 1971, are required by federal standards to have belts. Belts must be installed in these vehicles if the original seat belts have been removed. Vehicles brought in from other countries must be upgraded to conform with applicable federal motor vehicle standards. This means that passenger vehicles, light trucks and vans brought in from other countries must be fitted with belts if they were manufactured after the above date."

That passage is straight from the Tennessee Department of transportation..Anyway back to my story. I was cruising home on the highway and a police officer pulled me over for not wearing a seatbelt. I repeatedly asserted that since my car was manufactured prior to 1966 that it did not need seatbelts. I showed him the document stated. The officer was a real dickhole and insisted that i still had to have a seatbelt. I eventually caved knowing that if i continued to argue i would end up paying far more than a 20$ fine.

So what do you guys think about this. It's infuriating that this happened. I did get his name and i have a scheduled court date. I can just pay the 20$ fine and avoid going to court...Which is what i want to do. It's fucking irritating to get written a ticket for not wearing a seat belt when the car you are in is probably twice the age of the the officer.

Thats why I'm glad I a) sold my car, and b) moved far away from Tennessee. The contrarian in me says fight it!

[D.D.D.]

....I think driving without a seat belt is stupid and I would install some and wear them.

That's the smarter thing than worrying about whether or not you're gonna get a ticket.

[Inazuma]

I'm no expert on seatbelt law but I will believe you about the 1966 year and before exception rule. OK, now with that aside...

Why in the fuck do you not wear a seatbelt? I don't care what the law says. If you don't wear one, there is a very good chance you will get seriously injured or die if you get into a car accident. Not dying has got to be one of the most important things ever. How come you don't mind if you die?

It's really amazing how someone doesn't care at all about their fucking life, but they care so much about some stupid ticket. It's like a billion times less important than your own safety. Honestly, I am blown away. I really hope this is some kind of sick joke or something. Please don't tell me you are serious.

I would probably be dead if it weren't for seatbelts. About a year ago, I was driving down a straight road and some stupid fucker stopped his car in the road just ahead of me, sideways, blocking both lanes. I had no way to escape and I couldn't stop fast enough, so I hit him hard. Even with my seatbelt and airbag, my glasses broke from my face smashing into the airbag, and my right arm was burned and bleeding. My car was totaled.

Start wearing your fucking seatbelt, and then you can complain about stupid shit like $20 tickets.

[Redifer]

I think it should be up to the individual if he wants to wear a seat belt or not. If he dies or becomes seriously injured, he's the one who suffered, not me. When I run a red light because I was texting, slam into someone and that guy goes flying out of his windshield and his intestines splatter all over children on the sidewalk because he wasn't wearing a seat belt, but I was OK because I had my seat belt on, I was clearly the smart one and the one who did not suffer because of my smartness. It was the dumb one who chose not to wear a seat belt who died and is having his large intestine used as a jump rope by said children. Him not wearing a seat belt didn't hurt me.

All joking aside, wearing a seat belt does help keep insurance rates lower.

[D.D.D.]

I think it should be up to the individual if he wants to wear a seat belt or not. If he dies or becomes seriously injured, he's the one who suffered, not me. When I run a red light because I was texting, slam into someone and that guy goes flying out of his windshield and his intestines splatter all over children on the sidewalk because he wasn't wearing a seat belt, but I was OK because I had my seat belt on, I was clearly the smart one and the one who did not suffer because of my smartness. It was the dumb one who chose not to wear a seat belt who died and is having his large intestine used as a jump rope by said children. Him not wearing a seat belt didn't hurt me.

All joking aside, wearing a seat belt does help keep insurance rates lower.

That and it would waste less time of surgeons, nurses, emergency staff and more...

[Curlypaul]

I agree, seatbelts and crash helmets should be optional. However to counter argue with myself I can see that if I was involved in car accident and ended up watching a stranger die horribly, I can't say that I wouldn't be upset by the experience.

OP - I would def fight it, as Hobbie said if you didn't know you were breaking the law then it wouldn't excuse you from being booked. The copper should have known that classic cars are exempt from being retro fitted with safety gear.

[Ack]

I'm no expert on seatbelt law but I will believe you about the 1966 year and before exception rule. OK, now with that aside...

Why in the fuck do you not wear a seatbelt? I don't care what the law says. If you don't wear one, there is a very good chance you will get seriously injured or die if you get into a car accident. Not dying has got to be one of the most important things ever. How come you don't mind if you die?

It's really amazing how someone doesn't care at all about their fucking life, but they care so much about some stupid ticket. It's like a billion times less important than your own safety. Honestly, I am blown away. I really hope this is some kind of sick joke or something. Please don't tell me you are serious.

I would probably be dead if it weren't for seatbelts. About a year ago, I was driving down a straight road and some stupid fucker stopped his car in the road just ahead of me, sideways, blocking both lanes. I had no way to escape and I couldn't stop fast enough, so I hit him hard. Even with my seatbelt and airbag, my glasses broke from my face smashing into the airbag, and my right arm was burned and bleeding. My car was totaled.

Start wearing your fucking seatbelt, and then you can complain about stupid shit like $20 tickets.

I believe you missed something important. It's not that Arbitern doesn't wear a seatbelt, it's that there aren't any in his car because the vehicle wasn't manufactured with them. Could he install some? Maybe, but being ignorant on the installation of such things and his particular model of the Corvair, it may be prohibitively expensive, damage the vehicle in some way, or just not be possible.

[ZeroAX]

I think it should be up to the individual if he wants to wear a seat belt or not. If he dies or becomes seriously injured, he's the one who suffered, not me.

There's a number (which I don't remember how it's called) which is how much an individual is worth to his country. Meaning how much wealth he will produce in his lifetime. The average for a person as you understand can be pretty high, depending on the country. So anyway, in most western countries it's a high number, so it is in the state's interest to keep you alive, cause if you die it loses that "wealth" you were going to produce.

Of course you can just commit suicide if you like to, but the state would prefer you to stay alive as long as possible so you produce stuff (at least until you retire, when then it wishes you die . Good thing the doctors depend on old people to stay in business so they do everything they can to keep them alive )