Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon
Hi JoMar: I appreciate and respect your candor but perhaps you have made some assumptions.
I am a retired insurance guy that probably was involved in the handling of more lawsuit nationwide then many attorneys. So to one of your questions the answer as to whether I would sue depends on the facts of the case. But let me explain that after handling that many lawsuits I deplore them and find most to be only a benefit to the beloved attorney who claims he would be honored to handle your claim.
Further let me explain that in many states if a person is injured not wearing their seat belts it is not a defense. I know I had more attorneys arguing that the guy would have never been thrown through the windshield if he wore his seat belt or other injuries and a judge returning "it doesn't matter"and has no relevance". I also have seen people who sustained injuries because they only had a seat belt around their waist
To answer your assumption. I do believe in seat belts and you can see why from my previous comments. In fact I tried to have them installed in my cart but the repair guy said because of the type of seat in my cart it would be very difficult. I intend to pursue that goal.
What I did say in my post was that I did not want this subject to move from people believing a personal need for seat belts to a mandatory call for seat belts. In other words I did not want to see cops patrolling the multi-modal pathways issuing tickets because golf cart occupants didn't buckle up. God knows police have a big enough job now on the public streets and investigating break-ins, etc.
You made it clear that no one enters your cart without wearing a seat belt. Again if it isn't a three point belt system you can injure yourself . Again you impose your will on others and others may not share your concern.
Finally let me tell you about the trucker who had his rear axle knocked away by a driver causing his vehicle to go over a hill and roll.
One would assume that fortunately he was wearing his seat belt and was not thrown from the vehicle. However in this case the seat was the cause of his paralysis (quad) as he was found hanging from it. I had spent many hours in conference on how much money to set aside for this guy's care under Workers Compensation because he need 24/7 care.
My years in this business made me compassionate and determined for more safety and many a case brought me to tears seeing the pain and suffering of people such as this truck driver.
Personal Best Regards:
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Hi Rubicon,
Thanks for expanding on your post. My "Sue" comment was based on some personal experience. Without going into too much detail I know of a couple accidents that would have resulted in no significant injuries if they had been wearing belts in their car. They were both thrown from their cars which resulted in the injuries, if they had their belts they would have remained in the car and most likely suffered slight to no injuries. It was determined that the accident was determined to be their fault but the sued the driver of the car they hit because their lawyer was able to convince a jury that the other driver should have anticipated the accident. Because the injuries were severe, they received significant compensation and this in a state that has a seat belt law. As long as we have a legal system that believes wearing a belt would not have relevance I guess we encourage the continuing practice and the continuing litigation.
As far as my imposing my will on others, you bet. Since I am the responsible person I make the rules. If I swerve to miss anything, the person falls out and is injured, do you think he will absolve me of any responsibility...I don't. Take away my liability and I would agree with you, but since nobody can do that, they wear belts when with me.
I agree with you, I don't want more regulation, authorities making decisions for me and some kind of enforcement on the MMP. I believe the way we avoid that is to take responsibility to decrease the negative data. Until we do that, the authorities can use the negative data to create enforcement. Personal opinion, they don't enforce much of the cart specific existing laws. I have yet to see a cart pulled over for speeding on the streets much less the MMP so doubtful that, even if they had a law on belts, enforcement won't happen. But do a rolling stop in a cart.......
Have a great day.
JoMar