Why do so many expats 'forget' to wear their seatbelts when they are in a country that doesn't enforce wearing them? Why do they allow their children to sit on their lap in the front seat, or to stand while the car is driving? Why do expats ride (on the back of) a motorcycle without wearing a helmet? Why do expats allow their drivers to call while driving (not hands free)?
Most of those expats do use the above mentioned items when in their home country and when I ask why they don't do it here the answer more often than not is: "Because I don't have to by law."
I was under the impression that seatbelts, helmets and hands free kits were invented for our safety, not for the police to be able to give us a fine if we don't use them...
Shouldn't your children be safe in traffic wherever you are or is their life worth less in Indian traffic than at home? Doesn't your skull split open when you have an accident and you fall off your motorcycle in India?
I know most Indian drivers have only one hand on the steering wheel at any given time, but using the other hand to hold a mobile phone and concentrating on the conversation instead of on traffic must be even worse.
In Libya I drove the company car, which meant that I had to do a defensive driving course every year. Part of that course was a series of horrible videos, showing how people fly around in the car during a collision, even with slow speed. It wasn't the fact that they got injured or killed themselves that shocked me (sorry, I know it sounds harsh, but if you are too stupid to wear a seatbelt it is your own fault I recon), it was the fact that they killed other passengers. When a person, young or old, flies through the car and lands on another passenger he will badly injure or kill the other one(s).
That is why my driver is not allowed to drive if not all passengers wear their seatbelts. It is why I stress at school that all the children on the bus should wear their seatbelts. It is not to please the police, it is for our own safety!
Check out this clip on you tube! (click on the link)
'A Mumbai public service initiative has taken an unusual approach to getting
motorists' attention - by hiring a group of transgender men known as The
Seatbelt Crew to perform a demonstration of how to use the safety device.
The transgender group, known as “hijras” in India,
are viewed as sacred and touched by God. They are traditionally identified
by their clapping, and bless motorists in return for cash. However this time
their presence in the rush hour traffic was to make motorists aware of the
dangers of not wearing a seatbelt. '
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muCU6_Y_Kyo
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