Odessa

Many of us are forced by law to wear these things. These laws have been on the books for a long time. You would think that they could make then more comfortable. I was the passenger in a car returning from yet another trip for work and the seatbelt was annoying the crap out of me.

I do not understand why the passenger seatbelts are different than the drivers in many cars. The driver's belt will typically move a bit, allowing the driver to move to look for cars, change the radio, or other things. And as if the whole contraption isn't annoying enough, the passenger's side doesn't move, except to make the fucking thing tighter. I guess passenger's aren't supposed to have an itch or change the radio. We are supposed to be good little passengers and not move a muscle. Exhale? Not allowed, the belt of death tightens its grip like a boa constrictor.

I was stuck in one of these cars for three hours. Buckle-up, get comfortable. Belt starts creeping and rubbing. I try to ignor it. Belt start bothering my boobs (many women have a time every month they don't want "the girls" caressed gently or even in a bra, never mind being scrunched and contorted by a strip of stiff material). Try to move belt to a more comfortable position, even though there is no give. Exhale and the damn that thing tightens up. No choice - have to unbuckle and get a bit of room back.

I had to unbuckle, breath and rebuckle about 4 times, before I unbuckled myself, cursed at it (yes, with a colleage in the car who was driving) and tied a fucking knot in it. Yes, a "fuck you I want to fucking breath, you are not retracting anymore" knot. Choosing between being annoyed half to death or being safe is sad really. And something I think car makers, especially domestic car makers, need to address.

I think, and not just limited to cars, that any engineer that designs something for the consumer should test it first. My proposal: The son-of-a-bitch that designs a seltbelt should be required to be the passenger in car with it for 3 hrs - NO stops, NO unbuckling. Then forced to drive his/her significant other strapped in the passenger seat, so they have to listen to any complaining. I think that there might be a few design changes if they had to test it themselves. Think Detroit will go for it?