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Post by rockynv on Apr 9, 2013 4:02:03 GMT -5
Not sure if you can really know that 100%. Most deaths with seat belts I see are from purposely misadjusted ones or wrecks that would not have been survivable anyways. My father survived a wreck that crushed the roof down on the drivers seat only because he was wearing his belt and was not impacted on the steering wheel in the initial crash or rendered unconscious by hitting his head on the windshield frame. When the van rolled down the embankment afterwards he was able to jump between the seats before the roof caved in and saved two disabled toddlers in the back by taking the hits from what was fly around in the van as it rolled. If he had not been wearing his seat belt all three of them would have been lost when the van slowly sank into the swamp afterwards.
Rescuers found them all safe on dry ground with my 76 year old Dad the only one bruised up and with wet feet. He took the toddlers out still strapped into their their seats to play it safe.
Cause of the accident was the drive shaft snapped and vaulted the handicapped transport van through the guardrail.
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Post by carasdad on Apr 9, 2013 9:47:08 GMT -5
As a Paramedic of 30 or so years...I can say I have seen almost as many Seat Belts kill people as not kill people. Had they been able to lay flat as the inverted vehicle slid down the road grinding the top down to nothing...they would have lives. I have seen folks with no Seat Belt thrown from vehicles and killed about as many times as I have seen them thrown from the vehicle which saved their lives. Motor Vehicle accidents are a crap shoot. I have seen people hit by a car at 20mph killed on the spot and last week a guy was hit running across the Interstate by a car traveling 70+mph and he only had bruises and a shattered right leg....still alive. The Law of Physics is not a math equation we can solve and prove our answer as the equation has too many variables. In Michigan the Seat Belt fine is $100. Also if you visit here and get stopped...DO NOT do as habit has taught us and un clip your seat belt and reach for your wallet to get your license. The Officer WILL see you do it as he approaches...but stil say you had no seat belt and issue a citation. You can take the day off work and beat it in court by having they play the dash cam however....showing you un clip after the stop. 2 things I do not like about the seat belt law. 1. I feel them telling me what to do violates my rights. 2. It is a huge revenue resource up here as those 28 years old and older drove for years without one....there was no law...so no seat belt has become habitual to us in nature. The legal system knows this...and counts on this as a source of revenue. But also up here it seems every month a new and ridiculous law is passed over miniscule things...BUT..it becomes a new source of income. Monday I was ticketed at 1:20 p.m. for a head light out....middle of the day! Broad daylight even scooters and motorcycles must have their lights on. Mine has dual head lights and only one was out. Tried to bargain and reason that most all scoots and motorcycles have only one light...I still had a functioning one. No Dice....$75 bux gone..cha ching! She said it was a safety issue to which I replied..." we could have 300watt strobe lights on these things and still get hit...I have MANY near misses cause their cell phone call or finding a good radio station is more important..also look at statistics...there are just as many car/car accidents as there are car/scooter or motorcycle ones" She was actually very polite and attentive..never rude or aggressive...surprised me.  Lastly I just wanna say...Why can't the Chinese make a bulb that will last more than 3 months? The 2 most common problems I see daily come to the shop are...burnt bulbs and broken belts....2-4 month old bulbs and 300-500 mile broken Chinese belts.  I now use US bulbs and Gates belts for customers... |
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Post by justbuggin2 on Apr 9, 2013 10:09:13 GMT -5
Not sure if you can really know that 100%. Most deaths with seat belts I see are from purposely misadjusted ones or wrecks that would not have been survivable anyways. My father survived a wreck that crushed the roof down on the drivers seat only because he was wearing his belt and was not impacted on the steering wheel in the initial crash or rendered unconscious by hitting his head on the windshield frame. When the van rolled down the embankment afterwards he was able to jump between the seats before the roof caved in and saved two disabled toddlers in the back by taking the hits from what was fly around in the van as it rolled. If he had not been wearing his seat belt all three of them would have been lost when the van slowly sank into the swamp afterwards. Rescuers found them all safe on dry ground with my 76 year old Dad the only one bruised up and with wet feet. He took the toddlers out still strapped into their their seats to play it safe. Cause of the accident was the drive shaft snapped and vaulted the handicapped transport van through the guardrail. when the wreck was over i sat back upright in the seat the windshield post was beside my head the driver door was push past the jam a foot and the driverside fender totally gone if i had my seat belt on i would not have been able to lay across the seat so i do know for sure |
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Post by rockynv on Apr 10, 2013 4:22:31 GMT -5
We may have war stories about personal mis-impressions of what we think may have been however hard facts from many thousands of accident reports for the past 50 years show more people survive with lesser injuries when using the seat belts. Deaths are down despite more people on the road getting into more accidents then ever before especially where there are mandatory seat belt laws and that is the bottom line with demonstrable facts showing the positive results.
Family members who have been in the police, fire rescue and emergency room lines of work for their entire life long careers many now retired will honestly tell you that even though they may not personally like wearing seat belts they do work for the majority.
I have personally been in wrecks that the only thing that kept me 100% injury free was the seat belt and shoulder harness. And yes with the belt on I can still duck down if the need came to be. In a roll over if still conscious I would would be better off able to maintain position instead of being tossed about out of control inside the vehicle unbelted being ground away with the roof.
Now would the belt make much of a difference at 100+ mph hitting a fixed object or another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction at 100 mph? We all understand the answer would be probably not and your more likely dead either way.
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Post by carasdad on Apr 10, 2013 8:58:08 GMT -5
I have personally been in wrecks that the only thing that kept me 100% injury free was the seat belt and shoulder harness. And yes with the belt on I can still duck down if the need came to be. Sadly not all cars are like that i.e. our PT Crusier...once belted in you can't move!! It holds ya tight...in fact I can't even reach forward enough to use the cigarette lighter or get my RC Cola from the cup holder. The car I sold recently..a Mazda Miata...you could move all over once belted in....but tap the brakes and the belt locked..holding you in place... Even a barely felt bumper tap on another car while parallel parking and it locked in place. Either Chrysler needs to fix the issue in that line of cars...or possibly ours is defective..  |
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I now use US bulbs and Gates belts for customers...
