Seat Belts Part II

I recommend you read my previous post titled "Seat Belts" before reading this one.

I did my research about the seat belt law and discovered you don't have to legally weat a seat belt if you are in a vehical that is in a parade. I didn't let this new found knowledge stop me from writing a letter to the editor though. Here is the letter I submitted this morning.

Indiana law requires the use of seat belts. This law has some exceptions, one of them dealing with parades. Occupants in a vehicle in a parade are not required by law to wear a seat belt.

I attended the final parade of this year’s DeKalb County Free Fall Fair and I was shocked at the number of police and firefighters who were not wearing their seat belts. I understand that legally they are not required to buckle up, but what about the little children who are watching the parade and see their heroes not wearing a seat belt?

Children look up to our service men and women (be it police, fire fighters, armed forces, etc) and often want to mimic their behavior. Being someone’s hero/idol comes with the uniform, so why not set a good example during parades? During a parade, law enforcement and firefighters are driving slow enough that the children watching the parade can see them and the children notice if their heroes/idols aren’t wearing their seat belts.

Children are told time and time again to buckle up and that seat belts save lives. It would be nice if their heroes/idols followed the same rule we instill in our children, even during a slow moving parade.

I guess we'll wait and see if they publish it.

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My letter was "published" in the Evening Star on October 2, 2008. Yeah me.