I just have to ask...

[starrylizard]

Do they not have seatbelt laws in the USA? Because, they seem to never wear them in American TV shows and it bugs me no end.

Comments

[ramblin_rosie]

They exist and are enforced pretty rigorously (e.g., the Texas Department of Public Safety's "Click It or Ticket" campaign); you might not get stopped for not wearing your seatbelt, but the charge will likely be added to your ticket if you're stopped for any other reason. TV shows are just unrealistic that way--though there's a case to be made in SPN for the Impala not having seatbelts because it's an older car.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Okay, thought so.

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

I didn't think they did, or at least, that a lot of states didnt'.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling they do, but their TV-land doesn't care. It just angers me when I see it in TV shows/movies. I know it shouldn't bother me, but it really does. I sit there yelling at them to "click-clack front-and-back!"

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

I remember it being a topic on a WEst Wing episode, and they didn't have it, though I guess things have changed!

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

No idea. I'm Australian. The above-commenter thinks so though. :P

[beef-wonder3.livejournal.com]

Probably a matter of it not being important enough, most shows not having many important car scenes.
I think I remember something for Supernatural though, given that it is one of the few in the car a lot, that the Impala has only waist seatbelts, not over the shoulder ones.

If it makes you feel any better being irritated by such a small detail, I hate that in TV, everyone, without fail, will grab their jacket before walking out the door, but no-one ever finishes their food.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Teehee! But it's always cold there? I dunno. :P

[omglawdork.livejournal.com]

Ha, oh yeah, bigtime seat belt laws. Not always applicable in the back seat, but even that is changing recently. I don't understand grabbing the jacket, either - it's fine without a jacket where I live (central Texas) for ten months out of the year. I went a whole school year once with nothing but a sweatshirt in lieu of a coat. If I lived up north, though, you bet I'd be getting that jacket. It gets COLD up there. :-P

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Teehee! Okay. Yeah, I get it for the Impala, but I've been watching movies and TV shows of all sorts and they rarely wear seatbelts. Even Danny only wears it on H50 in protest of Steve's driving. i.e. they point it out!

[meg-tdj.livejournal.com]

I know, right? They set such a wonderful example.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

It must be an awful example for teenagers just getting their licence.

[yasminke.livejournal.com]

BIIIGG time - the difference is, at least in the States I drove through/in, you couldn't get stopped for not wearing a seat belt* it was just added to your offenses. Which can make for a hefty fine. They always wear them in Modern Family. ;)

The Impala and cars like it (in some states) tend to be exempt because you'd have to retro-fit them. Or, they have those annoying waist seat belts. It's obvious it's a classic car taken care of, not a clunker, so it might squeeze by.


*Having said that, there were, I recall, a couple of campaigns where they pulled you over to randomly check.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

I get it with the Impala, but it's across most American movies and TV shows. Quite stunning really! I mean, it's worse than smoking in movies/TV and they've got rid of that for the most part. *tuts*

"Click clack, front and back" people!

[yasminke.livejournal.com]

So in Australian shows they put the seatbelts on? Neighbours (haven't seen it in ages)? Offspring?

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Haven't ever watched those shows. I mostly watch British TV to be honest and they do tend to. No idea about recent Australian TV. Do they, you tell me?

I'm trying to think. I'm pretty sure they did in the last show I watched. It was produced by the ABC though. Does that make a difference?

It was simply an observation that drives me nuts, so I was curious.

[yasminke.livejournal.com]

Well they did the other night in Offspring, so Aussies are safer drivers.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

awesome!

[lark_ascends]

Uh huh. Add in not locking your cars, not turning lights off before you leave the house/apartment, and not locking your door in your apartment/house to my pet peeve list for tv shows.

[phoenix39.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, leaving all the lights on in the house when leaving is my pet peeve, especially when they're leaving for vacation. I'm just like Lizzy's icon.

[phoenix39.livejournal.com]

There's a national "Click It or Ticket" law. About a decade ago, a cop couldn't pull you over just for not wearing your seatbelt. They needed a different reason, like broken taillight, expired tags, etc, and then if they noticed you weren't wearing your seatbelt when they pulled you over, they could ticket you for it.

But then they introduced the new law saying that cops can indeed pull you over for the sole purpose of not wearing your seatbelt. I tried Googling what a first offense ticket would cost, but search engines have been epic fail today.

Although, in Illinois, at least, there's a law stating that if passengers in the backseat are 18 or older, they have the choice of not wearing their seatbelts. But front seat passengers are required regardless of age. I always wear my seatbelt and when I see someone I'm riding with not wearing it, I nag them about it. The only time I've not worn my seatbelt in the backseat was the rare occasion when my parents would drive somewhere with me and my three little cousins (8, 9, and 10 years old) and it would be the four of us in the backseat. I would make sure they were wearing the three seatbelts.

Basically, it's heavily enforced. They just don't think about it in TV/movies. But a few years ago, in a Hannah Montana episode (or the movie, whatever), Miley and her dad did a scene where they got into a car, didn't buckle up, and Billy Ray just started "driving" and Miley was scolded by parents for being a "bad role model" (which makes me laugh because, look at her now, promoting sex and whatnot). Miley and Billy Ray did a public apology, stating that they were so in the moment when filming that they just forgot about the seatbelts. Personally, I thought it was rather silly to make such a federal case out of it. I never noticed those little things when I was a kid. I never argued, "But they don't wear seatbelts on Show." If it angered parents so much, they should have gone to the directors of the show, not the actors.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

Teehee! Someone above said Aussie TV shows are just as bad. I don't watch many, so I haven't noticed specifically. Good to know there are seatbelt laws in the US though. I assumed, but never knew if there were. :)

Miley as a role model is a bit laughable now, huh.