Thanks for the detailed and empathetic response. I'm going to disagree with you again here, but I don't bear you any ill will for your opinion, especially in light of your wife's experiences.

I don't think I've had any real life experience color my view on this, thankfully - I've always worn my seatbelt and have never been targeted by cops. My strong reaction to this issue (and I've had literally all of the conversations currently happening in these comments over and over for years now, on here and on the other website) is due to just how ridiculous and self-contradictory it is for people to actually support seatbelt laws based on the arguments you're seeing in these comments.

I'm pretty sure the deeper truth here is that people (or most people at least - I don't think this is true of you, based on your comments here) actually don't care about the safety and trauma they always bring up in these comment sections, not really - I think they just take it personally for some reason that someone else has the audacity to make stupid decisions (even though they themselves are also frequently making stupid decisions they don't notice, and which have their own set of externalities - those stupid decisions are fine, of course), and it makes them feel morally superior to impinge on those individuals' right to make their own choices freely, especially when they have the easy refuge of flimsy "safety" arguments to retreat to. They're moral busybodies, and it's infuriating.

And pointing to nanny state European countries infamous for "protecting" their citizens from the audacity of making their own decisions doesn't settle the argument. Two countries can do the same thing for very different reasons (and if you think European cops defend the working class and not capital I have a bridge to sell you - each of those countries' cops have their own socially acceptable groups to harass instead).

I'm also a part of the tax-paying public, and I'm not happy that seatbelt laws are strict. You spend far more of your tax money on the crazy number of people who need early, intensive medical care due to dozens of different kinds of unhealthy life choices. In fact, I'd argue that the one-time costs of car crash deaths stemming from loosening seatbelt laws is far cheaper than the years or decades of intensive, expensive treatment for preventable conditions arising from other knowingly stupid choices, and yet, once again, for some reason it's stupid choices regarding seatbelts of all things where people come out of the woodwork to be worried about the toll on people and the economy.

Or to act worried so they can feel morally justified (literally) policing the actions of others, at least.

Again, thank you for your comment and your perspective.