https://www.reddit.com/r/Virginia/comments/1igp4an/virginia_mother_is_pushing_for_changes_to/
created by TrollingBy on 03/02/2025 at 13:31 UTC
233 upvotes, 46 top-level comments (showing 25)
https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/christy-king-seat-belt-law-change-general-assembly-feb-2-2025
Is anyone taking responsibility for their actions anymore. This lady did a crappy job teaching her child the importance of seat belts and now wants the law to deal with her deficiency. She states that she didn't even know that it was not illegal to not wear a seat belt in the back seat. Good chance her son didn't know either and still chose to not wear his seat belt. Also the driver was going 80 in 30 which is already illegal and that didn't stop him. So what would another law on the books change?
Comment by BikeSpamBot at 03/02/2025 at 14:37 UTC
69 upvotes, 2 direct replies
She states that she didn’t even know that it was not illegal to not wear a seat belt in the back seat. Good chance her son didn’t know either and still chose to not wear his seat belt.
Someone please decode the quintuple negatives here. I am struggling
Comment by tooclosetocall82 at 03/02/2025 at 13:38 UTC
207 upvotes, 9 direct replies
I’m not sure a secondary offense and a $25 fine is going to move the needle here. Education about seatbelts and making them a habit for your kids (the car doesn’t move until everyone is buckled) would do far more.
Comment by Bunnawhat13 at 03/02/2025 at 14:55 UTC
39 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The driver of the car was also charged with a DUI and a hit and run. I find it odd that the article left that out.
Comment by StenosP at 03/02/2025 at 13:40 UTC
128 upvotes, 1 direct replies
She lives in the click it or ticket state and claims she didn’t know it was legally required to wear a seat belt?
Comment by bearded_fisch_stix at 03/02/2025 at 13:44 UTC
52 upvotes, 5 direct replies
Grief is a sonovabitch. It makes us do irrational things.
Comment by n0th3r3t0mak3fr13nds at 03/02/2025 at 14:21 UTC
23 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Instead of extra seatbelt laws, maybe there should be more strict enforcement against reckless driving. People who drive 80 in a 30 zone are endangering more people than just the passengers in the car. An accident where the car was going 30 is generally going to be less catastrophic than one where the car was going 80.
Comment by Who_Dafqu_Said_That at 03/02/2025 at 14:36 UTC
32 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Shame there's no law against doing 80 in a 30, we could have prevented this whole thing...
It is a tragedy to lose your kid, but this is misdirected anger.
Comment by Jaded_Cryptographer at 03/02/2025 at 13:54 UTC
26 upvotes, 4 direct replies
I tend to agree that the type of people who don't wear a seatbelt aren't neglecting to do so because there isn't a law. Granted, it *should* be a law, but it's a largely symbolic gesture. It's going to be a secondary offense (i.e. very little chance of getting caught) and a $25 fine, that's not going to change a lot of people's behavior.
But I don't blame these people. Their son died and they're looking for a way to make the loss less meaningless, and the result is a law that is at worst harmless.
Comment by thescott2k at 03/02/2025 at 16:32 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
If your 18 year old isn't putting on a seat belt without a second thought, you let something slide that you shouldn't have for a whole lot of time. I think the guilt is too much for her to bear and she's trying to offload some of it.
Comment by TeaMePlzz at 03/02/2025 at 16:12 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I think the law she needs is to assure law enforcement. Too many proud posts of "thank God I got off" for speeding like this.
Comment by BankaiPhoenix at 03/02/2025 at 15:51 UTC
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Back when I used to drive for Uber, I had a passenger question me when I asked them to "please put on your seatbelt." She would say things like "I technically don't have to wear one in the back seat," or "I had a friend who rode in another Uber who got asked to put on her seatbelt in the backseat. She ended up getting a refund from Uber because according to her, the driver was being unreasonable."
I proceeded to tell the passenger "Ma'am,this is my vehicle, and I make the rules in my vehicle that all occupants of my vehicle, including myself, must follow. It may not be a law in Virginia for people in the backseat to wear their seatbelts, but in my vehicle, you either wear a seatbelt or you get out. Simple as that. Anything could happen between the time that I pick you up to the time that I drop you off, and I would much rather you get to your destination safe."
That lady proceeded to shut up for the rest of the trip, and then proceeded to file a complaint against me later for asking her to wear a seatbelt in order to try and get her money back. I countered her complaint with my own dashcam footage showing my calm demeanor along with my reasonable statement.
She never got her money back, and the complaint was dropped.
Moral of the story, wear your fucking seatbelt. Don't be a fucking idiot and try to challenge the DRIVER and OWNER of the vehicle. You will lose in more ways than one.
Comment by Historical-View4058 at 03/02/2025 at 13:51 UTC
8 upvotes, 0 direct replies
So now she wants us to legislate willful ignorance
Comment by xheadwoundharryx at 03/02/2025 at 13:50 UTC
6 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Inertia….It’s a hell of a thing for all occupants. Maybe if there was a law that anyone injured in a vehicle crash who failed to wear a seatbelt lost all civil litigation rights for any injuries sustained in the crash. That might get some motivation for people to wear something so simple in a vehicle.
Comment by Ok_Photograph6398 at 03/02/2025 at 14:09 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Too bad she did not teach her kid to buckle up. She is looking to shift the blame from her failure to a lack of legislation. I know people who don't wear seat belts if they get hurt in an accident because of the lack of seat belt then it is their fault. We have enough nanny laws.
Making it primary will open it up to be abused by police to pull over anybody anywhere at anytime.
Comment by kicaboojooce at 03/02/2025 at 15:13 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
We need the crash test dummies back.
Comment by IHaveSpoken000 at 03/02/2025 at 16:31 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The first problem is going 80 in a 30 mph zone.
Comment by HowardTaftMD at 03/02/2025 at 17:10 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I am going to try not to be an ass here but I do think you are wrong on this.
1. She lost her son. No where does it say she taught him wrong, or raised him wrong, or did anything wrong. Her son is dead because of a wreckless driver who is more at fault, and because her son didn't wear his seat belt.
2. She is trying to push legislation that would cause you to receive a $25 fine for not wearing a seat belt. Why does this make any of us angry? If you or someone you love decides to wear their seat belt instead of paying $25 that is great. It might legitimately save their life. If you or someone you love doesn't and just gets the fine, it's only $25.
I actually felt pretty upset reading your words vilanizing her when she is struggling and will struggle forever with something so horrible that we would all be lucky to never have to experience and all she wants is for other people to avoid the same outcome.
Sorry, I didn't want to come across as an ass but I probably did but it really irked me seeing so many responses mad over a law that is so trivial but would help this woman cope with the loss and might save a life or two without bothering anyone.
Comment by pixeladdie at 03/02/2025 at 18:39 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Nearly five years later, a bill named after her son, also known as House Bill 2475, is making its way through the Virginia House of Delegates, requiring all passengers to wear a seat belt or face a $25 fine.
Support.
I see too damn many kids rolling around in the backs of cars in NoVA. If there were a tip line to report it, similar to the way some states take smoking car reports, I’d do it.
Comment by themedicd at 03/02/2025 at 19:39 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have colleagues who won't wear their seatbelt, *and we work in EMS*. It blows my mind that some people won't do something so minimal that can have such an impact (or prevent one). But some people can't be reasoned with
Comment by Dismal_9873 at 03/02/2025 at 14:45 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
“This lady did a crappy job teaching her child the importance of seat belts and now wants the law to deal with her deficiency.”
Spot on. One hundred percent. Replace “the importance of seat belts” with almost anything nowadays and you have an equally true statement. And now everyone else has to hear the manipulative dribble.
A few years ago someone I grew up with died in a really bad car crash. As in, fire was involved. It was, however, technically her fault that it happened. She made a turn onto a highway without looking and collided with another vehicle. Tragic?-god yes. Anyone else’s fault but hers? No. I hope to this day the other vehicle’s driver doesn’t carry around excessive guilt over it, because he doesn’t deserve to feel it. Should there be a law now saying young drivers should be given the right of way when turning onto a busy road? 😒
Comment by JohnWH at 03/02/2025 at 14:43 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I am in my late 30s, and I have known my entire life that you need to wear a seatbelt in the back seat of a car.
As someone with children, it feels almost impossible to not know this. I just do not believe this person at all
Comment by OllieOllieOxenfry at 03/02/2025 at 15:46 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
This is an unncessarily spiteful take on a grieving mother. Why do you care so much?
Comment by snowplowmom at 03/02/2025 at 14:14 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
She is grieving the loss of her son, and wants to somehow bring some good from it, save other lives, since she cannot save his.
Comment by parkeb1 at 03/02/2025 at 17:18 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
As a parent, you can preach to high heavens about wearing a seatbeat and still not reach some kids. Pray for our children that they will hear and understand.
Comment by WhatIsThisSevenNow at 03/02/2025 at 19:56 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have the upmost sympathy for her loss, but there is no law anybody could pass that would make a teenager do something they do not want to do.