One of the most basic laws that people need to learn as early as the first time they step into a car is to always wear seat belts regardless of whether you are the driver or a passenger. The law is strict about seat belts because of how this is one of the most important safety features of any vehicle. But one would wonder why some people, particularly the police, don’t always wear their seat belts.
Are the police also required to wear seat belts?
Police offers are required to wear seat belts because the law on seat belts extends to law enforcers as well. However, there are some police officers who don’t usually wear their seat belts for officer safety reasons because they believe that seat belts make it difficult for them to reach for their firearms in time.
When you think about how dangerous the police’s job is and how quick they should be to react to certain situations that are life or death, you would understand why there are some law enforcers that don’t always wear their seat belts. It does make sense, to some extent.
But you also need to understand that this is not an excuse for you or anyone else to not wear a seat belt.
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Who is exempt from wearing a seat belt?
It is important for any person to know that wearing a seat belt is mandatory according to federal law, and it is also required by law in almost all of the different jurisdictions around the world. That is because wearing a seat belt is one of the most effective ways to keep a person safe and free of any serious injuries in the event of an accident or collision on the road. The seat belt is effective at minimizing damage to the persons in the vehicle.
Then again, while it might be required for anyone to wear a seat belt while in a vehicle, regardless of whether they are the driver or simply a passenger, it is equally important to note that there are exemptions to this rule. And while there may be exemptions, they are quite a few. This means that it still is important to make sure that you wear your seat belt, even if you might be covered in the exemption.
So, who is exempt from wearing a seat belt?
The most important exemption to the rule of wearing a seat belt is when you are driving or riding an emergency response vehicle. This includes vehicles like firetrucks and ambulances. The reason why people in emergency vehicles don’t need to wear seat belts is that they need to be able to respond quickly to certain situations without getting delayed by their seat belts. Meanwhile, those in ambulances usually perform emergency first aid, and that means that wearing a seat belt will not allow them to do their jobs.
Can a doctor exempt you from wearing a seat belt?
Another exemption to the general rule of seat belt wearing is a condition that is medical in nature. There are some jurisdictions (particularly in the UK) that allow doctors to issue a medical certificate that can help exempt a person from wearing a seat belt.
Such conditions may include pregnancy or any other medical grounds that will make it dangerous for a person to wear a seat belt. However, this is not a rule that is generally followed or observed in the US, even though there may be instances where wearing a seat belt can be dangerous for a person with a certain medical condition.
Do police have to wear seat belts?
Now that you know that those who are in emergency response vehicles are not usually required to wear seat belts, you might be wondering if police officers are included on that list. After all, policemen are also emergency responders in their own right as well, especially when a dangerous incident calls for them to be able to respond quickly to the situation.
However, not even the police are exempt from wearing their seat belt. In fact, police departments require that the officers themselves wear seat belts while they are in their vehicles not only because that is what the law requires but also because it allows them to appear as model citizens to the community.
One of the reasons why police officers are not exempt from wearing seat belts is the fact that police cars are usually just a means for transportation for the officers and are not usually a part of what allows the officers to perform their tasks. In comparison, people in firetrucks and ambulances require these vehicles to perform their duties, and being able to perform their duties well means that they shouldn’t be hampered by their seat belts.
Another thing to look at is those police officers also use their cars whenever they are in a high-speed chase. Being in a high-speed chase puts the police officers in danger, and that makes wearing a seat belt even more important for them.
Why do the police not wear seat belts?
While we did say police officers are not exempt from wearing their seat belts, why is it that you still see some police officers not following the law?
Why do some police officers not wear seat belts despite the fact that they are not exempt from the law?
Some people tend to think that the police don’t wear their seat belts because it makes them look like they are above the law. While that may be true in some instances, the general truth is that police officer don’t always wear seat belts because of the belief that it allows them to perform their duties more efficiently.
Imagine being a police officer who responds to a dangerous situation on the spot but ends up being in danger because keeping a seat belt on makes it more difficult for you to quickly get out of the vehicle and reach for your firearm.
If you look at it, it does make sense for some police officers to ignore their seat belts, especially if they are assigned to a particularly dangerous city that ends up having plenty of shootouts involving police officers and gangs. However, what you also need to know is that this doesn’t always show the bigger picture.
It might be true that police officers need to be able to exit their vehicles quickly and reach for their firearms in time to respond to a dangerous situation, but the fact is that dying in the line of duty isn’t always related to how the police officers were not able to reach for their firearm in time because of the seat belt.
On the other hand, 21% of police fatalities are related to on-road incidents such as crashes. This means that there is a huge number of police officers that die on a yearly basis due to road safety issues that could have been prevented by wearing a seat belt. So, in a sense, not being able to reach for a firearm or exit the vehicle quickly may not be a good reason for police officers to not wear seat belts, especially when the danger of collisions and on-road accidents is always apparent.
Sources
Why don’t cops wear seatbelts? How the demand for officer safety endangers police officers
Police officer explains seat belt exemption for emergency vehicles
