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this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2023
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Not wearing seatbelts and fucking around with a phone are hardly victimless crimes and those laws that punish such offenses were written in blood.
Who is the victim of not wearing a seatbelt?
Is it one of those 'you're not allowed to do things that only affect you because we're a society' type things where we should ban video games and sweet foods too?
Other passengers in the car, for one. The driver losing consciousness due to hitting their head on the steering wheel or dashboard from an initial impact because of not wearing the seat belt now becomes an out-of-control vehicle that can involve anybody in the vicinity of the impact. There are plenty of victims if you just think for a sec.
What exactly happens with the car after the initial hit?
If the impact was not straight on, a car gets redirected, usually towards pedestrians and other cars. A still conscious driver can prevent more damage from occurring.
I guess it could be argued that everybody via higher potential expense via NHS?
And the other part, mobile phones, is certainly not victimless crime.
I wonder constantly how in this day and age people still don't use hands free either in-car, speaker, or BT systems if they really MUST be talking "all the time".
It is a suggestion when the people enforcing it do not follow the suggestion. At least where I am the definition is so lose that driving falls under distracted driving. And it is a victimless crime up until someone crashes into another, but hey, we have laws that say that is a crime (reckless endangerment). Putting extra layers on this and expecting people to fight every wrongful ticket is not a good idea.
You realise you're applying what I'm assuming are US laws to a study based on English and Welsh laws, yes?
Distracted driving is not an offence, the use (or causing or permitting the use of) a mobile phone is an offence. For more broad issues, then charges of Careless (or even Dangerous) Driving would apply.
Plus your logic is so full of holes, it sinks faster than an Oceangate sub. You could use that angle to argue that throwing axes in a primary school is a victimless crime until someone gets hurt.
I am not from the US. And I have witnessed the full stupidity of her majesty's (I will be cold in the ground before I recognise king sausage hands) courts work with distracted driving (I was on the receiving end).