First Take

I read where a two-vehicle traffic crash Monday night resulted in one of the drivers being ejected, and seriously injured.

Investigators said the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.

I’m not preaching, but I never go anywhere without wearing my seatbelt.

The same goes for the passengers in my vehicle.

From personal experience – in race cars, not on public roadways – I can tell you that I’ve been in some situations where the safety belts I was wearing, well, saved my life. We’re talking about some pretty violent situations, folks, probably a First Take subject for another time.

But the bottom line is my experiences have made me a firm believer in seatbelts’ usefulness.

On that subject, a new TV advertisement promoting the use of seatbelts, shows three crashes – scripted and choreographed, of course

– in which one driver says, “I wasn’t going very far.” Another says, “I was in a hurry.” And the third says, “They’re too uncomfortable.”

All I can say to that is, if that’s your reasoning, you are your own worst enemy.

Buckle up!