MOST EXCUSES FOR FAILING TO BUCKLE UP JUST DON'T CLICK ANYMORE

The following are excuses people have given for not wearing a seat belt and responses from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

I am afraid of getting stuck in a crashed car. When you are buckled up, you are more likely to remain in place, in control of the vehicle and conscious.

It irritates the skin on my neck or chest. Most newer vehicles have adjustable shoulder-height positioners; for older vehicles, wear clothes with a higher neck for extra padding.

It makes me feel restrained. That's the function of a seat belt.

I am too big to wear a seat belt. Buy a seat belt extender.

I can't look over my shoulder before turns. Yes, you can. A seat belt restrains your chest, not your head.

I forgot. That's why most vehicles have annoying seat belt reminder systems.

Nobody tells me what to do in my car. Traffic laws mandate what people can or cannot do in their cars.

I have an air bag; I don't need a seat belt. Air bags are supplemental restraints. They deploy at about 250 mph and deflate immediately after. If you are not restrained, you will go into the air bag, and quickly go into the steering column or through the windshield.

I have a medical condition; I can't wear it. Make sure you carry a doctor's excuse with you at all times.

BUMPER SNICKER: I don't care who you are, what you are driving or where you would rather be.

COMMENT: To the person who ran over a Canada goose on Hugh Daniel Drive recently: I hope you got where you were going without incident. I suppose we should all be thankful that you did not run over and kill a small child. Is that what it will take to make the speed demons I see on a daily basis get tickets? Do you care that you left a mate and her three babies without their protector? What a sad sight to see the female goose standing by the roadside, crying for her mate. Please slow down. The speed limit is the law - not a suggestion! - Cheryle D. Hayes, Birmingham. As a former law enforcement officer, I understand the intent of the move-over law. I believe it is much too vague and relies too much on the officer's discretion. I know of one incident where a driver was stopped by a state trooper for failing to move over, even though the driver could not. When the trooper told the driver that he should have slowed, the driver said, "I did. I slowed from 65 to 50. How much should I have slowed?" The trooper couldn't tell him. If you're on I-65, would a safe speed be 50? 40? What? The idea is a good one. The execution has not been so good. - Jim Franklin, Tarrant. Think of it this way. There will be people moving along the side of the road. Drive at a speed that will reduce your chances of striking one of them should they step onto the highway. The law is not specific as to what speed you should slow to, said Martha Earnhardt of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. But, she said, you should slow to a safe and reasonable speed.