Since many people hate wearing seat belts, they have come up with a number of silly stories and excuses in order to avoid having to do so. Here are a few of them, and the reasons you shouldn’t listen to them:

1) A seat belt can trap you inside your vehicle.

Sure it can. During a collision, a seat belt will very often come alive and develop an evil agenda. Or, in the real world, it takes you less than a second to unbuckle yourself. On the other hand, without a seat belt, you may be knocked unconscious and have no way whatsoever to save yourself. We recommend Option A.

2) Seat belts are only necessary for long trips, not if you’re just running out for a few minutes.

This is a terrible reason not to wear a seat belt. You are even more likely to have an accident in the second scenario, mainly because you will be distracted thinking about that delicious pizza you are about to pick up. Also, there are plenty of Lifetime movies about kids who get into accidents only a few blocks from their house, but have you ever seen one about kids who get into an accident on that long, life-changing cross-country Summer of Discovery road trip? Didn’t think so.

3) If I don’t wear a seat belt, I have a chance of being thrown clear in the event of a crash and walking away without much physical damage. 

It must be nice to live in your fantasy world. You are five times more likely to be killed being thrown from your vehicle than remaining buckled. Your body can be thrown into oncoming traffic, go flying off the edge of a bridge, or be caught in mid-air in the talons of a bloodthirsty condor. This last example is less likely than the others, but it has a good chance of scaring you into wearing your seat belt, so we’ll mention it anyway.

4) We’re only going for a short ride, so my little sister doesn’t need to be buckled.

Look, we know she spilled grape juice on the couch last week and blamed it on you, but is that any reason to do her in? Car accidents are responsible for more child fatalities than any other cause, so if you love your sister at all (dig deep), then please help her with her seat belt and keep her safe.

Just a little something to keep in mind: when you’re involved in an accident and your car comes to a sudden stop, the laws of physics dictate that your body, if not secured with the proper restraints, will continue to move forward at the same speed at which you were previously traveling. This will cease to be the case once your body hits something itself. The problem is that, unlike your car, your body doesn’t come with a functioning airbag. We’re talking messy, splattery body parts. And new paint.