Question

When conversation turns to the pros and cons of wearing automobile seat belts, Herman always brings up the case of a friend who survived an accident because he was not wearing seat belts. The friend was thrown from the car and landed on a grassy bank, suffering only minor injuries, while the car burst into flames and was destroyed.

Explain why this anecdote does not provide good evidence that it is safer not to wear seat belts. What kind of data is useful as evidence? MUST BE 350 WORD MINIMUM with 2 IN-TEXT References.. APA

Answer 1

In this narrative, one of the many possible situations have been depicted. In his case, not wearing a seat belt turned out to be a life savior decision for Herman's friend. However, this may not be the case every time. For example, there can be many other possibilities of an accident, like:

He did not wear the seat belt, and in an accident due to collision, his head gets hit on a hard object. Alternatively, maybe he just got thrown out of the vehicle from the front glass window leading to major injuries or may be even death; which could have been possibly avoided if one had worn seatbelt (or at least the injuries could have gotten reduced). So wearing a seatbelt is always advised for your safety reasons.

Hence, this narrative does not provide any good evidence that it is safer not to wear seat belts. One out of several possibilities does not provide any factual evidence to do so. What if he had landed on Rocks or fell into a valley, instead of the grassy bank?

Factual data and other experiences & accidents, that occurred till date provides a good evidence that wearing a seat belt can be life savior in most of the cases. As the probability of surviving, a tragic accident by not wearing a seatbelt is much too low than as compared to the probability of one while wearing a seat belt. Following the rules and even though if one desires to risk, it is always important to consider the risk factors and the probability and possible consequences of doing so. High probability indicates it may turn out in your favor, but not necessarily so. Being factual and being reasonable will surely help you out. It may even save your life at some point in time.