Like a broken record
Young readers who listen to music via electronic devices may not understand the “broken record” metaphor. Once upon a time, recorded music was pressed onto vinyl records and played on phonographs. A damaged groove on the vinyl record might cause the needle to jump back every rotation, causing the same words or notes to be repeated, over and over again, until the needle was lifted and placed on the next groove.
Someone who is a “broken record” keeps repeating the same thing, ad nauseum. We hope our readers will forgive us for being just such an annoyance when it comes to the wearing of seat belts.
Last Friday night, a 45-year-old woman was killed when her Dodge Dakota slammed into the Smith Township Municipal Building. She was not wearing her seat belt.
On Sunday, a tour bus and car collided on Interstate 70 near the Jefferson Avenue Interchange. The bus flipped on its side and its driver was thrown through the windshield. The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was the only one seriously injured.
Chances are pretty good both drivers would have walked away from these crashes had they buckled up.
We remarked in this space countless times on the necessity of wearing seat belts, not just because it is the law but because it is common sense. We hope someday there’s no need for such editorial reminders of the importance of seat belts, and we can settle into a new groove.