Pickup Owners: Do you buckle up?

[Howling]

Yeah, I go lucky. That is because of the safety equipment - ROPS, seat belt.

I have been thru those Oh F*k moments before the reinforce the need for safety equipment. 34 years ago on my bike had teenage girl make left turn in to parking lot. She told cop "I didn't see him until he broke my windshield." Without my helmet I my wife would have been an early widow.

This thread has some discussions on folks not wanting the government, laws, fines telling them what to do. This not the real issue.

The real issue how much you value your own hide, safety and life. And what you are willing (not willing) to do to protect those and people you love.

 

[ultrarunner]

^^^When I worked in manufacturing I bought my own safety equipment... NIOSH respirator and hearing protection...

It caused a stir because the other workers wanted to know what made me special because they thought the the company supplied them and did not have much to say when I said I paid for them... it was my hearing and lungs.

There comes a point where a person needs to accept responsibility...

 

[Soundguy]

It sounds like you got off pretty easy.:thumbsup:

Very much so.

That was a free one!

 

[bdog]

I always wear my seatbelt. I read the news daily and almost every time you read about someone killed in a car crash they were not wearing a seatbelt. Just last week a local wreck had four occupants in the car. It crashed and two were not wearing belts and were ejected and died. The other two had belts and lived. It isn't fool proof and I know people still die with them on and people live with them off but statistically you are far better off in a crash if you are wearing one.

 

[ultrarunner]

Seat belts have gotten better too...

The old two piece belts from the 60's were not user friendly and trying to climb over the mess from the backseat was another issue.

I really find modern belts not to be a problem...

It is a little disheartening to read about millions of air bag recalls and deaths....

Not to get too far off into the weeds... a very senior friend of mine was the passenger in a Cadilac and they had a low speed collision... really zero damage when the car went forward into a wall in the parking garage.

Evidently is was just enough to deploy the air bags... she looked like she had gone 10 rounds of boxing... her face was black and blue... broke her nose and plus other injuries... the drivers wrist was fractured... also elderly.

The Docs said the injuries sustained were from the airbag deployment...

 

[Billrog]

Just yesterday morning an 82 year old lady I know was pulling onto the highway and hit head on by a car at highway speed . Her son in law told me this morning her seat belt and air bag had saved her from injury's and she was only shook up. I believe they were both medium size cars regardless both cars were badly smashed right offs.

 

[Copperhead]

Does depend on the vehicles involved. Short of a NASCAR approved roll cage, you do a head on with a semi truck at a closing speed of 120 mph (60 mph for each vehicle) and you are going to die, be a total basket case, or in a vegetative state for the rest of your life. Seat belts and air bags will not help much if at all. Dental records might! There is just no getting around that 80,000 lb of truck and load, no auto or pickup occupant stands much of a chance except maybe with a glancing strike. If one is lucky, it might get tossed out of the way. A direct head on, chances are good that the truck is going to go right over the top of the car. We can try as we like, but physics comes into play nonetheless. Recent accident on I-80 just west of Des Moines, a Des Moines police vehicle with two officers transporting a inmate from one of the correctional facilities did a head on with a car going the wrong way on the interstate. All occupants in both vehicles died at the scene. Seat belts and bags did nothing to prevent that tragedy.

It has caused me to wonder sometimes, if people are not more aggressive in their driving because of a false complacency that they will be protected by belts and bags. Might be one of those unintended consequences of all that "safety". We can pile on the safety stuff, but stupid wins every time.

 

[Al Mac]

Does depend on the vehicles involved. Short of a NASCAR approved roll cage, you do a head on with a semi truck at a closing speed of 120 mph (60 mph for each vehicle) and you are going to die, be a total basket case, or in a vegetative state for the rest of your life. Seat belts and air bags will not help much if at all. Dental records might! There is just no getting around that 80,000 lb of truck and load, no auto or pickup occupant stands much of a chance except maybe with a glancing strike. If one is lucky, it might get tossed out of the way. A direct head on, chances are good that the truck is going to go right over the top of the car. We can try as we like, but physics comes into play nonetheless. Recent accident on I-80 just west of Des Moines, a Des Moines police vehicle with two officers transporting a inmate from one of the correctional facilities did a head on with a car going the wrong way on the interstate. All occupants in both vehicles died at the scene. Seat belts and bags did nothing to prevent that tragedy.

It has caused me to wonder sometimes, if people are not more aggressive in their driving because of a false complacency that they will be protected by belts and bags. Might be one of those unintended consequences of all that "safety". We can pile on the safety stuff, but stupid wins every time.

As vehicles get safer with ABS, air bags (front and side), lane warnings, skid control the list is long. It is still driver error that most accidents happen from. Great having all the electronic safety on vehicles but drivers still have to pay attention to what is going on and drive within their skill level.

SUV Disintegrated into Pieces by Head On Collision with 18 Wheeler - YouTube


Al

 

[Copperhead]

Always great vids from the eastern Europeans.

 

[300UGUY]

I always wear my seatbelt. I lost control on i96 once, hit the divider at 40 mph. I totaled the van, but walked away from it. When I took my carhart off later, I had a bruise across my shoulder from the belt.