The Tiresome Chore of Seat Belts

The last time I was here, in 2010, I was given a lift by a friend. Not only did my friend, the driver, not wear a seat belt, but nor did his 3 young children. In case this doesn’t baffle you, at one point a police car came the other way. My friend instructed his eldest son (12 years old), in the front seat, to pull across his seat belt. The son knew from practice that it wasn’t necessary to insert the belt into the buckle, just hover it over the buckle as his dad does, to not attract attention from the police car.

The rejection of the seat belt goes beyond the immense effort involved in that exhausting 'click'. It seems to me to be a conscientious objection. The seat belt is against you. It’s a weapon of control over your freedom. It's for people who can't drive. Years ago I offended a taxi driver by putting on the seat belt as soon as I entered the taxi. His reaction was “do you think I’m a bad driver?”

Many times I’ve been told I don’t need a seat belt as the driver knows what he or she’s doing. These drivers ignore the fact that everyone thinks they are a good driver, especially the bad drivers, and the drunk drivers. And the drivers on the phone or texting. And they ignore the fact that so many other drivers are bad, drunk or texting.

It comes back to the recurrent theme: risk is an accepted part of life here, and when anything untoward happens, it’s “God’s Will”.

It does seem to have improved. since 2010 more people do seem to use seat belts, but too many don’t. Including a family member whose 3 kids (all under the age of 8) don’t wear seat belts, and one of them rides standing up between the front seats. And a pregnant friend who doesn’t use a seat belt. When asked, her response was “pois é”, a very casual, impartial way of saying “well, yeah”.

“Pois é” was also the stock response in a recent TV report, about the attitude towards seat belts. Various drivers were interviewed in the street who weren’t wearing seat belts. Their only reply was “well, yeah”, and no-one offered a defence or an explanation. 

It just is.

When I am driving I make a point of not moving until everyone is belted in. It upsets some people and hugely inconveniences them. I know England used to be like this. I remember when the law was changed to force all passengers to wear seat belts. I remember campaigns when I was a kid to change the habits. But it seems so long ago that I assume everyone should know the benefits of a simple click.