baba@spar.UUCP (Baba ROM DOS) (01/06/86)
>>/* Written 4:43 pm Dec 21, 1985 by abc@brl-tgr in inmet:net.politics */ >>The New York seat belt law is estimated to have saved over 170 lives >>already. Does this count? > > Of course! On the other hand, it's annoyed a lot of other people, and > cost them money. Does that count? > > Before you react with: "But even ONE human life is worth an awful lot > of annoyance", consider this: > > Lowering the speed limit to 15 mph would save MORE lives. > > In other words, there is clearly a trade off between convenience and > risk -- and they must be balanced against each other. > > Nat Howard Precisely. In some states democratically accountable lawmakers decided that requiring the use of seat belts was an acceptable trade-off. In California, at least, the issues of cost, annoyance, and civil liberties were all weighed against the benefits in the course of debate. If the legislators were seriously mistaken, they will either be replaced with others who will repeal the law or be overridden by an innitiative. Baba