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the stats don't favor your point, but you're not wrong. i had a friend in high school who would have likely died or at least been severely crippled had he not been thrown from his K-Car. he hit a tree and the engine ended up in the driver's seat (quality vehicle back then). he was thrown from the car and broke his leg instead of being crushed by an engine. but that's an anomoly, not the norm.
My mother was in an accident when she was a teenager (back in the 60's) where one of the three girls in the car was wearing a seat belt and the car caught fire and her friend was killed because no one could get her out of the car in time. She did not wear a seat belt for many years (I don't ever recall her wearing one when I was a child) but she does now. It took a long time for her to get that scenario out of her head and realize that the chances of that happening are slim to none compared to the chances of her getting seriously hurt for not wearing one but after witnessing that horrific event I can't say I blame her for the way she felt.
I had the opposite happen - I lost a friend who was ejected through the windshield and decapitated on Route 4 when she wasn't wearing a seat belt. I was about 18 - 19 at the time and that's what made me start wearing mine regularly.
Statistically, only about .1% of accident deaths are the result of someone being trapped in a car that is either submerged or on fire. In addition to the extremely low probability of someone being killed in those circumstances, you should factor in the reality that someone who is unbelted is much more likely to be very seriously injured or knocked unconscious in an accident, thus making it impossible for him/her to escape from a vehicle, so an unbelted person is actually more likely to be, "trapped", in his or her car. Think about it!
Along this line of thinking, I had an elderly relative who became more and more illogical as she aged. When she bought a new car with shoulder harnesses, she actually took a paring knife to the seatbelts, and cut them out of her new car! When I asked her why she did this, her answer was something to the effect of...What if my hands were broken in an accident, the car caught on fire, and I was unable to open the buckle on that seatbelt? My response to her was, "Well, if your hands were broken, you would also be unable to open the door, so the outcome would be the same". She did not like the introduction of logic into her argument, unfortunately, and just went on with her rant about, "government seatbelt conspiracies", or some nonsense to that effect.
Could someone be decapitated by a seatbelt? Well, I suppose that if someone placed a sharp knife between the shoulder harness and his/her neck, this might be possible , but I think that being decapitated by a properly-placed shoulder harness is about as unlikely as you can get. I have seen people riding with their shoulder harness placed squarely on their neck, and this type of misuse can lead to a broken neck, but misuse of many items can be fatal. After all, it is possible to kill yourself by overdosing on Vitamin A, but that would be a case of misuse, and the isolated cases of Vitamin A toxicity should not prevent someone from taking appropriate doses of vitamin supplements.
Decapitation from a seatbelt? I have not found any credible information to that effect, but if you can find it, please post it.
For a look at the ultimate irony on this topic, you might find this interesting: snopes.com: Seat Belt Death
I have actually read that.
If that's the case,why don't cars no longer have lap belts?
I have read too many conflicting info.
I think the reason cars don't have lap belts because it harmed more than it helped. It caused internal injuries in the abdominal area.
My mother was in an accident when she was a teenager (back in the 60's) where one of the three girls in the car was wearing a seat belt and the car caught fire and her friend was killed because no one could get her out of the car in time. She did not wear a seat belt for many years (I don't ever recall her wearing one when I was a child) but she does now. It took a long time for her to get that scenario out of her head and realize that the chances of that happening are slim to none compared to the chances of her getting seriously hurt for not wearing one but after witnessing that horrific event I can't say I blame her for the way she felt.
I had the opposite happen - I lost a friend who was ejected through the windshield and decapitated on Route 4 when she wasn't wearing a seat belt. I was about 18 - 19 at the time and that's what made me start wearing mine regularly.
I can understand why your mom would feel that way. I'm glad she's ok and is now using a seatbelt (which are probably better designed than in the 60's).
I can understand why your mom would feel that way. I'm glad she's ok and is now using a seatbelt (which are probably better designed than in the 60's).
Agree..I didn't even think most cars of the 60's had seat belts
My mother was in an accident when she was a teenager (back in the 60's) where one of the three girls in the car was wearing a seat belt and the car caught fire and her friend was killed because no one could get her out of the car in time. She did not wear a seat belt for many years (I don't ever recall her wearing one when I was a child) but she does now. It took a long time for her to get that scenario out of her head and realize that the chances of that happening are slim to none compared to the chances of her getting seriously hurt for not wearing one but after witnessing that horrific event I can't say I blame her for the way she felt.
I had the opposite happen - I lost a friend who was ejected through the windshield and decapitated on Route 4 when she wasn't wearing a seat belt. I was about 18 - 19 at the time and that's what made me start wearing mine regularly.
i'm still walking this earth because of a seatbelt. so my car doesn't move til everyone is wearing one.
you've gotten pulled over twice in 3 years for not wearing a seatbelt - maybe they just have your license stored in a database of idiots-to-pull-over and when you drove by, he received an alert? that seems to be the most logical explanation to me.
I never thought of that. Thanks. Because there was no way he or I could see through another person's car that foggy morning. Makes sense.
you've gotten pulled over twice in 3 years for not wearing a seatbelt
Usually one has to really work at it and bring the unwanted attention on yourself. To do that twice in one lifetime makes me think that you should run right out and buy some lottery tickets.
I was wondering if he got his Christmas tree on Dec 26th like he told me he would.
You need to go back and reread that thread. Someone one else made that slight remark when I was asking where to buy a Turkey on Thanksgiving day. Some people are so judgmental.
And yes I did have another thread about where ti buy a generator from in the last hours before Sandy hit.
So some poster took those 2 threads (late Turkey and late generator) and called me a troll and said when are you going to buy Christmas tree. In sarcastic reply I said the 26th.
Last edited by johnfrisco; 02-01-2013 at 03:30 PM..
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