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Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 17:45:40 +0100
From: Paul Brownjohn <Paul-no-spam-nospamnjohn.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Do You Have A Glove Box?


Shane Almeida wrote: > On Mon, 01 Nov 2004 14:50:58 GMT, Johannes H Andersen wrote: > >>>Yes, heaven forbid people take responsibility for their own actions >>>instead of relying on the government to legislate what should be common >>>sense. >> >> I'm not keen either on relying on the government to legislate what should >> be common sense, but I think you're missing the target here by a long shot. >> Seat belt wearing is almost universally accepted; it's a very old story. >> Anybody can cause a traffic accident, e.g. a blown tire or swerving around >> an unexpected obstacle. That accident may easily affect other road users, >> not just yourself. I would be happier if I knew that other road users wore >> seat belts and had a better chance of survival if it came to the worst. > > > I'm of the opinion that the government should do whatever they can to help > you make yourself safe. Make sure the roads are in good shape, properly > lit, clear of debris, etc. Make sure car companies provide seat belts, > air bags, safety cages, etc. But, I have a hard time accepting that the > government should require me, an adult, to wear a seat belt. I'll accept > seatbelt laws for minors because they haven't developed common sense, but > once you're an adult, it should be up to you to look after yourself. > > Someone I know runs a business that, by its very nature, presents a > moderate risk to the employees (heavy equipment, industrial machinery). > His feeling is "I'll do anything I can to protect you from this stuff, but > I'm not going to protect you from yourself." Funny....I have never seen or heard of anyone objecting to putting on a seatbelt when required to do so in a passenger aircraft...so why is it such a big deal in a car where the benefits are much, much more likely to be proven the hard way? A friend of mine hit a stationary truck at 100 KPH (60 MPH) in a small car. The car was fitted with a drivers airbag which failed to inflate but she was mercifully wearing a standard european style lap/diagonal seat belt and she survived with only minor cuts (from flying glass) and a massive seatbelt shaped bruise where the belt decelerated her from 100 KPH rather quickly. As an unrestrained front seat occupant of a motor vehicle (it doesn't matter much what the vehicle is)in a head on collision with a solid stationary object or a solid obect moving in the opposite direction, your chances of surviving are close to nill. Your chance of surviving without massive trauma and disfigurement are nill. There is nothing in a car that can decelerate a human being from that sort of speed other than a seatbelt or an airbag (or much better yet both) without the human being being massively damaged. Many years ago I had the dubious priviledge of seeing the result of a head on collision (truck approx 100 KPH) in which both the driver and passenger of the car were decapitated by the *safetly* glass of the windscreen. The guy driving the car had been married just 1 hour and the front seat passenger was his father in law....I don't envy the person who had to break the news to the bride. Neither party was wearing a seatbelt and this was a bit before the invention of airbags. Cheers Paul BJ

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