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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!harpo!ihnp4!drutx!druxy!phl
From: phl@druxy.UUCP (LavettePH)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: RE: RE: SEATBELTS,DRIVING 55MPH,etc.
Message-ID: <928@druxy.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 2-Feb-84 14:13:32 EST
Article-I.D.: druxy.928
Posted: Thu Feb  2 14:13:32 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Feb-84 01:30:13 EST
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
Lines: 41


Haven't seatbelts,airbags and statutory speed limits been beaten to death?

No one with a hearing problem wants to sit in a confined space when the
equivalent of a twelve gage shotgun blast is set off.  Air bags exacerbate
the problem,not solve it.

The 55 mph limit is a statutory (as opposed to a prima facie) limit that is
by its nature completely arbitrary.  Logic and government decree have never
been synonymous.

If anyone truly wanted to be safe on the road the would emulate the only
true experts in the field and follow NASCAR rules by equipping their car
with a roll bar (not a "decorator" bar) and themselves AND their passengers
with harnesses,crash helmets,face shields and flame suits.  In thirty-two
years of driving I have only seen one driver wear a crash helmet and he
almost caused a multi-car accident as everyone turned to stare at him.

Considering the number of traffic deaths attributed to burns and head injuries
I'm surprised that the safety people don't mandate this proven technology.
I'm also surprised that all those people who claim that they want safety on
the road are waiting for the government to tell them what to do when their
answer becomes crystal clear after once seeing the INDY or FIRECRACKER 500.
No,I'm not surprised,the former would be political suicide and the latter
would cost out-of-pocket money instead of being buried in the car's price.

I'm not surprised that a preponderance of correspondents appear to be more
interested in avoiding injury to their bank accounts than to their person.

A final thought to those of you who want the insurance companies to "punish"
those who don't participate in voluntary safety programs.  Do you really want
justice meted out in some grubby little boardroom of a company whose vested
interest lies in grabbing bigger profits from higher premiums or don't you
think that matters of justice rightfully belong in the courts?

A final final thought to those of you who think you can save a buck by having
the feds mandate safety equipment on all cars and get some kind of a price
break through the economies of mass production.  Those of us who somehow sur-
vived all those perilous days before Big Brother got involved remember that
seatbelts were a $15-$20 option that became a $75-$100 non-option.