The safety belt message can be unconvincing because of its emphasis on "what should be," and lack of consideration for "what is." Official statistics, formal logic, traditional empirical research designs, and technological perspectives are presented, but people's beliefs, traditions, and unquestioned rules of social conduct tend to be ignored. Relevant data are taken from interviews and roadside surveys that shed light on the social, political, cultural, philosophical beliefs, and thought processes at the root of refusal to wear safety belts. The risk concepts and prevailing societal attitudes toward safety belt usage are covered, as well as the myth that it is better to be thrown clear from the car in an accident. A 1978 German study analyzed 15,000 car crashes that had caused passenger injuries and concluded that proper safety belt usage can help to avoid 40 percent of all injuries and 50 percent of all passenger deaths. Illustrations, 13 figures, 89 references, 2 appendixes, 2 questionnaires.