[misc.legal] Seatbelts and accidents

welty@Bastet.UUCP (10/27/87)

(this followup is cross posted to misc.legal and alt.flame.
Followups are directed to alt.flame.  I think that you can
figure out the content of this article from the previous
sentance.)

Is this guy Eric Mading an AI project or something?

It is quite clear that he knows as little about automotive
issues as anything else he posts about.  I've been sitting
out this one, enjoying the fireworks, but here he has whizzed
into misc.legal about a topic with which I have some real
familiarity.

In article <1138@puff.wisc.edu>, Eric Mading writes: 
*The same logic justifies seat belt laws.  Sure, driving is dangerous.
                                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Gee, I wish someone had told me.  I never guessed.  Thanks for that
brilliant insight.

*  But some
*auto accident deaths could be prevented if the occupants in the car were
*wearingseat belts.

Likewise, a brilliant insight from someone who obviously has much to share
with us ignorant netters.  We should all be glad to have him around.  He
has much to teach us.

*  I admit, I rarely wear my seat belt when I drive, but I do when I
*am a passenger in my parent's car, becuase they wear their seat belts, and I
*would look stupid not wearing them when they are.

I've got news for you, bozo, you look stupid without your seat belt on under
any circumstances.  It is possible that you look stupid with your seatbelt,
but I've never seen you so I wouldn't know.

*  If Wisconsin had a mandantoryseat belt law, even with secondary
*enforcement and a $10 fine, I would wear my
*seat belt all the time.
*  The other reason I don't wear my seat belt all the 
*time,

Where the hell was the first reason?  Are you trying to confuse us or
something?

* the primary reason, is that when I drive, I usually go on short trips.  I
*don't have a car here on campus, but I do at home where my parents live.

Are you not aware of the (long standing) statistics that clearly show
that the vast majority of accidents occur on short trips.  Are you aware
that with no seat belt, an accident at 40mph has pretty good odds at being
fatal crippling?  Did you know that hitting the windshield at 30mph is
equivalent to falling head first off of a 3 story building?

Oh well, in the big accident, it's his brains that they'll be scraping off
the windshield, not mine.  Failure to wear belts selects for greater
intelligence in the long run (I hope).

    -- Richard Welty         Phone H: 518-237-6307      W: 518-387-6346
(some return paths are of questionable value -- use one of these addresses)
Internet:  welty@ge-crd.ARPA      Usenet:    uunet!steinmetz!crd!welty

``There's a fine line between an attitude problem and thinking clearly''
					-- Aaron Heller