As a current firefighter of 3 years and 5 months, living in a state that requires anyone operating or a passenger in a motor vehicle to have their seatbelt on, people unfortunately will not listen. Period. People think they're invincible.
I'll open up to a few things I've seen in the past 3 years and 5 months of my life that I hope no one ever has to see. I have never opened up to this to anyone except certified psychiatrists, it's scarred me for the rest of my life, and I only do this here in the hopes that maybe one person will be saved by wearing their seat belt.
I warn you now, this is extremely graphic, and will most likely be removed. Do not read if you're faint of heart.
My first accident that I ever saw was a drunk driver that had slammed through a telephone and rammed into a full grown pine tree, she was not wearing her seat belt, and had hit the tree going about 75 miles per hour. Her face and skull splintered on the tree. She had no ID so there was no way to ID her, except for her family to see her clothing (which meant seeing her body) and telling the police whether they believed it was her or not. She was 17 driving home from a party.
My fifth accident was a man who lost control of his vehicle and was partially flung from the driver's side window and pinned between the asphalt and his car door. His body was contorted in such a horrific manner that I still have nightmares about pulling up to that accident and seeing this. Also, no seat belt.
My seventh accident I was first on scene to a 2 car accident, as the accident was between me and the fire station, the person who called was stuck inside their vehicle and unable to get out or check on the other vehicle, upon arriving on scene, I was unsure which vehicle had the driver who called, and checked the first vehicle which was on it's roof (A 2008 Chevy Cobalt, red, with a "Coexist" bumper sticker). When I turned on my flash light and kneeled down to peek inside the car, the first and only thing I saw was an old man with his neck snapped so far that his face was touching his chest.
After that, I have purposely avoided being the first person on scene, for any accident, and prefer to run traffic control.
All these people's lives could have been saved by a seatbelt.
If you aren't going to wear a seatbelt to protect yourself, at least wear one to protect my fellow firefighters from having to witness such horrible, terrifying, and life changing things as what I've listed. I have gone to 4 separate psychiatrists and am currently seeing a fifth. After my seventh accident that I went to, I spent a full year on disability as I couldn't function in public, and couldn't handle being around people for extended periods of time.
I encourage you to upvote this post so others can see it, but please, I will not be responding to any questions. This is hard enough to talk about, as the only people who I have told about my significant issues and mental shock it's caused me is the few psychiatrists I have spoken to.
