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Publisher's Note: Restricting free-dumb
By Jody Reese
It’s very possible that in a couple of months you could be pulled over and fined $50 for not wearing a seat belt. New legislation has passed the House and the Senate, though the laws are slightly different. Gov. John Lynch may very well sign the new law.
It should go without saying that drivers should buckle up, but the larger question here is whether the government should force you to do the smart thing.
For many it comes down to balance. The government makes it harder to smoke by raising taxes on cigarettes and banning smoking in some indoor locations. The government does all sorts of things that make our lives more safe that may also limit our freedom to be dummies.
In the case of many restrictions the state uses damage to others as the main reason something is required or banned. In the case of smoking, laws regularly cite the harmful effects of secondhand smoke as the reason to ban smoking in bars and restaurants.
But that’s not the case with adult seat belt requirements. The most compelling argument for required seat belt use is that it will save lives — of the people being forced to wear the seat belt (the argument about saving on state medical costs is less compelling because we can’t know the true cost of that or the savings from more fatalities).
A similar argument can be made for outlawing smoking, drinking, staying up late, watching a lot of TV, eating fast food and having unprotected sex. Religious conservatives have use this same logic to try to ban pornography, abortion, gay marriage and other things they think hurt societal morality.
If we value the personal freedom to do things that other people think hurt us, how is requiring seat belt use any different? It isn’t.
However, this doesn’t mean that our state government can’t encourage us to be better seat belt wearers. Perhaps the solution is to provide incentives or disincentives to driving without a seat belt similar to the taxes levied on tobacco. One idea could be to let police report non-seat belt wearers to the auto insurance companies that could then assess those drivers at higher rates.
New Hampshire is the last state to not require drivers and their adult passengers to buckle up. Our collective decision to remain the odd state out reflects our desire to leave people with as much personal freedom as possible. The decision to be a dummy is a personal decision that all us dummies should retain.
Last call for entries
The deadline for hairstylists to enter the The Imperial Vodka Hair Show is April 17. Last year, 45 stylists completed in this competition at the Verizon Wireless Arena (it was the Patron Hair Competition last year). Money raised from the event will go to the Elliot Hospital Breast Center. The winner of the competition will receive $7,500 in cash. Get an entry form at www.nhwines.com.
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