Motor vehicles crashes have been registered as the leading cause of deaths of American lives. By June 30, 2017, there were more than 18,689 motor vehicles deaths, more than half of these people while in the accidents, were not restrained (Lowy, 2017). Wearing a seatbelt is useful for the passenger because it is an efficient way of ensuring that the person escapes grotesque death and serious injuries. The seatbelt utilisation has increased rampantly; the percentage has shot from 11% in 1981 to almost 85% in 2010 securing thousands of lives. Seatbelts provide an individual with a second chance to live when they are involved in an accident yet in a group of seven people; one individual does not buckle up.
Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Thomas Hobbes social theory states that humans are self-motivated with what they deem as necessary, and they are self-interested. People will be invested in what they individually consider to be beneficial. They are drawn to what they desire and repelled by what they believe as hostile. Everything that humans do is motivated by what they consider best for their situations (Lang " Slomp, 2015). Therefore, given Hobbes social theory, humans would comply with the laws under the sovereign authority to ensure they exist in a civil society that has conducive structures.
On the other hand, Jean- Jacques Rousseau social theory explains that human beings were born to enjoy freedom through the State of Nature, but the progress of civilisation has supplemented that liberty with dependence, social inequalities, and comparisons to other people (Shaapera, 2015). Therefore, the laws and morality have made human nature to have limited freedom. The freedom that initially was possessed by humans can be reclaimed through doing what is right for ourselves.
Government Involvement in the Seatbelt Law
When approaching the seatbelt law according to the theories of Hobbes and Rousseau, I believe Hobbes theory applies the best. It is essential to have rules governing the society to protect them from fatal injuries and death. The seatbelt law focuses on preserving and protecting the human life in case of an accident. However, people tend to forget the importance of seatbelts and choose not to buckle up exposing themselves to death in case of a gruesome motor vehicle accidents (Road Observatory, 2018). The seatbelt laws have provided the police officers with the mandate of pulling over drivers and their passengers who are not buckled up and issue them a ticket for ignorance.
Seatbelts have been designed to maintain people in their seats during an accident as they prevent or reduce injuries. The seatbelts lessen any contact between an individual and the car interior while significantly reducing the chances of being ejected from the motor vehicle (Pekol et al., 2011). Furthermore, the seatbelts have been designed to operate as prevention measures for injuries and to ensure safety; thus, if an individual has not buckled up, the risk of incurring casualties will be elevated.
Justification of the Government Imposition
The constitution has a collection of enumerated rights and freedom, but not all rights are directly listed in the documentation. For instance, no right is indicated to subject people to drive nor a right that states that government should not impose laws that navigate citizens into leading healthy lifestyles. However, the Fourth Amendment declares that all laws must be imposed and applied to all citizens fairly and equally. The constitution works as the protector of the citizens from excessive interference from the government but does not limit the government from intervening where deemed necessary. The seatbelt law is not absolute, and thus under particular circumstances, the government has the sovereignty to act against individual freedom because the law demands that (Tyler, 1992). The seatbelt law does not interfere with personal liberty, but it focuses on keeping them safe, ensuring that public safety is maintained, and the behaviour of the driver is regulated.
Complying with the Law
The seatbelt law benefits humans. With the increase of reckless driving and spontaneous car accidents, an individual core purpose would be complying with the seatbelt law and adhere to its rule; thus, reducing numbers of casualties and fatalities. The compliance of this law should be based on Hobbes theory of appropriateness and beneficial to the individual. Therefore, it would be unethical for the individuals to disregard a law that aims towards keeping them safe and alive. Personal liberty of choosing whether or not to implement a seatbelt is the small cost of the law (Haslam " Reicher, 2012). However, this individual freedom is not worth health and livelihood of the public. Therefore, people require the nudge from the government to comply with a law that aims towards maintaining their safety.
Conclusion
People should be drawn towards adhering to the bill because it is favourable to their welfare. However, individuals break the law because of forgetfulness and being in a rush, and during these moments, the government should impose lighter punishments to serve as reminders of complying with the law. People should not feel coerced into implementing a law that will ensure their survival in case of a road accident. Voluntary compliance with the law is advantageous because it reduces the resources utilised by the police officers to compel the society and provide a civil society.
References
Haslam, S. A., " Reicher, S. D. (2012). Contesting the ‘‘Nature’’Of Conformity: What Milgram and Zimbardo’s.
Lang, A. F., " Slomp, G. (2015). Thomas Hobbes: theorist of the law. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy.
Lowy, J. (2017). Safety council: Motor vehicle deaths dip slightly in 2017. USA TODAY. Retrieved 9 February 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/08/15/safety-council-motor-vehicle-deaths-dip-slightly-2017/567969001/
Pekol, A., Paulus, R., Leal, N., Dovan, N., " Wooldridge, M. (2011, January). Wear it or wear the cost: current seatbelt wearing rates in Queensland. In Australasian College of Road Safety Conference, 2011, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Road Observatory. (2018). Seat Belts - How Effective?. Roadsafetyobservatory.com. Retrieved 9 February 2018, from http://www.roadsafetyobservatory.com/HowEffective/vehicles/seat-belts
SHAAPERA, S. A. (2015). Evaluating the social contract theoretical ideas of Jean Jacques Rousseau: An analytical perspective on the state and relevance to contemporary society. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 9(2), 36-41.
Tyler, T. (1992). Why People Obey the Law. New Haven: Yale U.P.
