The more things change, the more they stay the same.
“The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah unearthed video from the 1980s showing anti-belters opposing seat belt laws for a lot of the same reasons some folks today are rejecting masks and vaccines designed to keep themselves and their communities safe during a pandemic. Noah’s short bit, which aired Monday, has been making the rounds on social media throughout the week because of its prescient nature.
“Any mandate, no matter how much it seems like common sense to some people, is gonna’ make other people really mad,” he said, introducing the clip.
The vintage video starts in a Michigan diner where one elderly man says that if the town of Richland passes a seat belt mandate, he’ll drive around that part of the state rather than strapping-up if he needs to travel to Kalamazoo.
“I wouldn’t wear a seat belt,” said another diner patron in the clip. “If I get caught, I get caught I guess.”
The video then shows a Florida Highway Patrol officer claiming people he pulls over have all sorts or excuses not to wear seat belts, including that they are uncomfortable and wrinkle clothes.
“There’s no freedom no more,” groaned a motorist that officer ticketed. “If you don’t want to wear it, that’s your choice.”
The clip then cuts back to Noah in his New York studio.
“Hmmm… sound familiar?” he asked. “All the complaints about seat belts back then, are the same things you hear about vaccines.”
Though Noah did concede that wrinkled clothes isn’t a known side-effect for those who have been inoculated.
New York became the first state to pass a mandatory seat belt law in December 1984, which applied to people 16 years of age or older seated in the front seat of a vehicle. According to the CDC, other states later adopted similar measure, including Texas in September of 1985 and Florida, which in July 1986 made seat belts a requirement, but didn’t give police power to pull motorists over for that reason alone until June 2009.
The CDC found in 2009 that “Among drivers and front-seat passengers, seat belts reduce the risk of death by 45%, and cut the risk of serious injury by 50%.” The CDC also reported last week that unvaccinated people have an 11 times higher risk of death from the COVID delta variant than those who have been inoculated.
