... glad to hear that your family survived this accident with little harm, Will.

I have had seatbelts in my vehicles since the very first one I ever bought in 1967 and have, since the first day, had a personal rule: my vehicle doesn't move until everyone in it is buckled up.

Used to cause some difficult moments with my wife, who didn't like wearing a seat belt. Then, about ten years ago, while we were on vacation, another driver decided to make a U-turn on the freeway. He made this turn from the right hand lane, without looking, directly across the left lane, in which I was driving. Thinking he was just pulling into my lane, I instinctively tried to avoid him by swerving into the center divider -- with the result that I hit him broadside.

My wife was restrained by the seat belt, which caused a bruise that extended from her right shoulder all the way down to her left hip. There is no doubt that if she had not been wearing a seat belt, she would have gone through the windshield and been seriously injured or killed.

It offends my Libertarian sensibilities when the government imposes legal requirements governing our personal lives. On the other hand, anyone who drives or rides in any vehicle without a seat belt is a complete idiot.

----- jim o\-S