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I have seen other crash videos w/cars from the 1950s and 60s and in some, the entire car body seperates from the chassis. As for seatbelts, I always wear mine when I drive my '75 Pontiac convertible. I figure that if someone hits me, I will at least stay in the car.
Been wearing seatbelts since I started driving. Dad's rules, "If it's not buckled, the car doesn't move." and "If I catch you or hear of someone catching you without the seatbelt on, you WILL be walking!"
Wallaby, while it may infringe, there is no question that it saves lives. It isn't perfect, but anything that improves the odds is a good thing in my book. In 2010 there were
33, 808 recorded traffic fatalities.
Life without passion is no life at all.
Sean Combs
Just another example of government interference in our personal lives.
If your car is equipped with airbags you better be wearing your seat belts.
Even with the seat belts if the airbags deploy you will be feeling some pain.
And while it may appear to be intrusive, sometimes we have to be protected against ourselves. Tucker put seat belts in his car & Nash made them optional in '49, but Ford followed in the mid 50's, adding deep-dish steering wheels and the optional padded dash. But it took the government to tell us "this is good...do it". IMO, sometimes the government makes decisions that are good (like 15 mph through a school zone) and the seatbelt law is definitely one of those good laws.
I spent nearly 40 years dealing with traffic safety issues. Five as a police officer, 35 in the insurance industry safety and loss prevention field. I was a certified instructor for The National Safety Council Defensive Driving Course, as well as a program developed by my company. I've seen the statistics and witnessed the carnage. It always amazed me the resistance I would get from folks, especially older folks (World War II generation and older) to wearing them. The best excuse I've heard was from ladies who didn't want to wrinkle their clothing. I would tell them it is much easier to iron out the wrinkles then to get out the blood stains. No one gets in a vehicle I'm driving, or a passenger in for that matter, without wearing their seat belt. Air bags plus the damage/injury reduction design of modern cars are the icing on the cake from an injury protection standpoint. It is the law in Maryland, but I'm still amazed at the numberr of folks, especially young ones, that don't use them. It would be like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. UH-OH, I guess that opens a new can of worms.
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...It would be like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. UH-OH, I guess that opens a new can of worms.
Our youngest son (33) has a hard time with this issue...have used all the arguments we have but whether he's on a bicycle or a motorcycle, he still won't wear a helmet.
In 1964 my dad had a 1962 VW Bus. That's what I took my drivers test in. Back then you couldn't buy seat belts but I had an older cousin in the Air Force stationed in Dover Delaware. My dad got him to get us seat belts out on a jet airplane and my dad put them in the VW. They were dark green!!!
Spence, I had a good friend who owned a VW Microbus back in the late '60's...sweet little vehicle, but anytime we rode in it, I was always very apprehensive about getting hit in the front...not sure even belts would have helped that vehicle.
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