Hate seat belts, but wear them

I guess I'm not in the minority anymore since a recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 83 percent of American motorist are buckled up. The percent was an all-time high.

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia had a selt belt usage rate of 90 percent or higher.

West Virginia had a small decline in usage between 2007 and 2008, from 89.6 percent to 89.5 percent.

Our friends in Ohio saw an increase in usage, but the percentages were far below West Virginia: 81.6 percent in 2007 and 82.7 percent in 2008. I hate to admit it, but the top percentage was in Michigan with 97.2 percent.

As I said, I hate seat belts, but after seeing the physical damage done to my brother-in-law in a traffic accident three weeks ago and realizing if he and his wife hadn't been wearing seat belts they probably would have died instead of being confined to a rehab. center for the next couple of months, I guess we all should remember to buckle up.

I think it comes down to only idiots don't buckle up!