jj@alice.UUCP (01/14/86)
> From allegra!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!ihlpa!ibyf Wed Dec 31 19:00:00 1969 > > > I must disagree with you. The last thing I need in the middle of an accident, > > while trying to maneuver to avoid other cars/guardrails/etc, is this silly bag > > Wait a minute, the air bag doesn't come out until you hit something, and if > you don't want you "skills" and "reactions" obscurred by the bag, where > were your "skills" and "reactions" to keep you out of the accident in the > first place. Sorry guys, No validity in that argument. Try again! > > > Addison > ihnp4!ihlpa!ibyf Engage sarcastic mode: Now, wait a minute yourself. Airbags blow up at the FIRST collision. In many, many cases, it's not the first collision that is necessarily the worst. Suppose you're driving up Rt. 6 through Loveland Pass, and somebody rear-ends you. POW! The airbags blind you and you drive off the road, and wind up as a projectile falling on Golden. You land on the Coor's brewery, in the malt-toasting oven, and are roasted to death! You're dead and the government-mandated airbags are at fault. <exit sarcastic mode for a while> In a more serious vein: You're driving on the highway, somebody hits you. You can normally stay on your own side of the highway if you're concious, indeed most addicents work this way. If you're NOT concious, or if you're blinded, you have a good chance of hopping the divider or spinning in place. BANG! You're dead! The whole problem with airbags is that they protect ONCE, in the first collision, and they're NFG at all in side or (most) rear collisions. The other car, you're protected from. The trees, guardrail, the REST of the traffic, etc, you're not. ONLY A HARNESS CAN PROTECT YOU FROM EVERYTHING! Furthermore, a harness doesn't CAUSE accidents, or make them worse. Ergo, seatbelts and shoulder belts are safer, IF you wear them. Being required to have airbags is seriously endangering your life. Requiring them is therefore assault. Not wearing seatbelts is the (un) wearer's OWN bloody fault, and that person should bear the burden of their choice to be suicidal. Lessee... First, airbags. Next, cars are unsafe, ban them. Trains have accidents, ban them. Planes crash, ban them. Walking can cause blisters, ban walking. Life is dangerous, ban it. Right. Sure. Exit sarcasm mode. (again) If you're going to support airbags, at least get your facts straight, and stop with the misleading arguments! -- TEDDY BEARS ARE SHY, THEY NEED THEIR McVities! "By the Cross old Andrew wore, By the sword e'er William wore, ..." (ihnp4;allegra;research)!alice!jj
hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) (01/16/86)
In article <4813@alice.UUCP> jj@alice.UUCP writes: >> From allegra!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!ihlpa!ibyf Wed Dec 31 19:00:00 1969 >> [discussion by Addison defending airbags and enlightening >> others to their lack of telepathy] >> Addison >> ihnp4!ihlpa!ibyf > >Engage sarcastic mode: > >Now, wait a minute yourself. Airbags blow up at the FIRST collision. >In many, many cases, it's not the first collision that is necessarily >the worst. > [scenario by jj concerning immobility from rear-end collision] ><exit sarcastic mode for a while> > >In a more serious vein: > You're driving on the highway, somebody hits you. You >can normally stay on your own side of the highway if you're concious, >indeed most addicents work this way. If you're NOT concious, or >if you're blinded, you have a good chance of hopping the divider or spinning >in place. BANG! You're dead! > >The whole problem with airbags is that they protect ONCE, in the first >collision, and they're NFG at all in side or (most) rear collisions. >The other car, you're protected from. The trees, guardrail, the REST of >the traffic, etc, you're not. ONLY A HARNESS CAN PROTECT YOU FROM EVERYTHING! > >Furthermore, a harness doesn't CAUSE accidents, or make them worse. > >Ergo, seatbelts and shoulder belts are safer, IF you wear them. >Being required to have airbags is seriously endangering your life. >Requiring them is therefore assault. > >Not wearing seatbelts is the (un) wearer's OWN bloody fault, >and that person should bear the burden of their choice to >be suicidal. > [Prepare yourself to receive solid information, not misconceptions] First, let me say that I wholeheartedly support this attitude about belts. You'd better believe that they work, and those people out there too stupid to use theirs will just learn about untimely ends somewhat sooner than the rest of us. Also, let me re-state that I don't support anything resembling a mandatory air-bag law; as much as I believe in seat-belts I think we should let the doomed decide for themselves. Yes, you are right, airbags do nothing for you in a side- or rear-collision. And by an incredible coincidence, that's why they aren't designed to trigger in any of these instances. Surprised? I knew you'd be. If you're still curious, read up on the literature concerning the systems employed by GM and Ford in the early '70s, check out the recent articles concerning air-bag design, find an '86 Mercedes-Benz owner and read his SRS booklet. The collisions must be weeded out first to ensure 1) that they aren't a false alarm triggered by some malicious hood-banger, 2) that they result from an impact over 12mph, and 3) that they are frontal. Isn't computer technology wonderful? No, you are completely wrong. Airbags can't hurt you. In fact, they can't even reach your face. I have seen many films of airbags at work, both with dummies and with real test drivers. And they won't push you off the wheel. They begin to deflate in a ridiculously short timespan (45ms) through holes designed into the bottom of the bag. And if you don't encourage them, they become flabby pieces of plastic within one second. Airbags will not save you unless you are wearing seatbelts anyway. You don't believe this? Watch some NHTSA films and wonder why only the dummies with the belts on don't touch glass. Yes, if you don't wear your belt, in an impact of even moderate speed your survivors will find your profile permanently etched into the windshield even if you have an airbag. I have read John's (General Computer Company) observations about not yet seeing a case where a belted person needed an airbag. And for the vast majority of cases, he's absolutely right. But under the conditions that some of us drive, any major frontal impact will bring us VERY close to the steering wheel. Yes, I believe that a number of people will hit it, even with properly operating seatbelts. And should your shoulder belt's inertial reel fail, there is nothing preventing you from smacking your forehead into a steering column which is probably moving slightly upwards at you anyhow. We'll see who's more suicidal. > >If you're going to support airbags, at least get your facts >straight, and stop with the misleading arguments! >-- >(ihnp4;allegra;research)!alice!jj I couldn't agree more :-) -dave -- David Hsu Communication & Signal Processing Lab, EE Department <disclaimer> University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 hsu@eneevax.umd.edu {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!eneevax!hsu CF522@UMDD.BITNET "Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern Vern, you've done it now, buddy..." -Ernest P. Worrell