earle@oblio.DEC (Mr. SPPR) (01/06/86)
To those who still oppose seat belt laws and may use as a final argument that: People have been killed because they were trapped in the seat belt. This will not be true anymore for the most part. New cars such as my '85 Mitsu- bishi Starion and others have TWO seat belt releases: the traditional one that is used to buckle up and AN EMERGENCY RELEASE where on my car since the seat belt is contained in the door the EM release is at the top restraint on the belt above my shoulder. By using this release (EM rescuers are clearly able to see this bright red botton with EMERGENCY BELT RELEASE written on it) the belt could be thrown back towards the middle of the car and the person pulled out the side. What do you have to say now all you-4x4-trail-blazin'-v8-gas-hungry- 1970's-crappola-lackadasical-now-way-gonna-get-a-new-car-mines-will-last- forever-even-if-I-cant-see-'hind-me-cause-of-my-oily-black-smoke-from-this-car people. :-) And i ain't no YUCKKIE
lls@ccice5.UUCP (Leo L. Stearns) (01/14/86)
In article <270@decwrl.DEC.COM> earle@oblio.DEC (Mr. SPPR) writes: > >To those who still oppose seat belt laws and may use as a final argument that: > > People have been killed because they were trapped in the seat belt. > >This will not be true anymore for the most part. New cars such as my '85 Mitsu- >bishi Starion and others have TWO seat belt releases: the traditional one that >is used to buckle up and AN EMERGENCY RELEASE where on my car since the seat >belt is contained in the door the EM release is at the top restraint on the >belt above my shoulder. By using this release (EM rescuers are clearly able to >see this bright red botton with EMERGENCY BELT RELEASE written on it) the belt >could be thrown back towards the middle of the car and the person pulled out >the side. What ???? You don't understand the conditions under which people are killed because they were trapped by their seat belt nor the methods used by emergency personnel to remove them. Before I begin spouting off at the mouth, I should mention that I've been a member of a rescue squad for several years. Because of this, I have a good conception of what happens to people when they've been involved in an accident and also of what is required of emergency personnel to remove them. People who are killed because they were trapped in their seat belt die quickly ( not a nice way of putting it, but that's the way it is ). In these cases, death is generally caused by the vehicle catching fire, being submerged, or going off a cliff or something when the person *might* have been thrown from the car if they were not wearing a seat belt. In these cases the only way inwhich the person is going to be saved is if they get out *THEMSELVES*. ( forget what you see on TV or read in the sensationalist newspapers, people don't sucessfully go diving in after somebody, nor do they go walking up to a burning car, in street clothes, and rescue someone. In my 5 years on the rescue squad I've heard of several attempted rescues, but never have I heard of a successful one. ) No so called emergency release is going to help. Even if a bystander was able to get to a trapped person, the emergency release would be useless because the door would probably be jammed shut if the force of the collision was enough to incapacitate a seat belt wearing occupant. If the person is alive when the rescue squad reaches them, they are not going to die because of a seat belt. A seat belt is the least of your worries when you're trying to remove someone from a car. It can easily be cut with a good pair of scissors. The real problem is keeping a critically injured person alive while the sheet metal is cut/pryed/pushed away from them. Once the metal is away from the person, they must be stabilized so that removing them won't kill them. The "emergency" release on your Mitsubishi, in my opinion, is nothing more than a placebo. It serves no real purpose in the event of an accident (by the time the rescuer found the button, pressed it (if it still worked), and moved the seat belt, he/she could just cut the damn thing). It does however give the owner a feeling that he/she is safer in the event of an accident. > What do you have to say now all you-4x4-trail-blazin'-v8-gas-hungry- >1970's-crappola-lackadasical-now-way-gonna-get-a-new-car-mines-will-last- >forever-even-if-I-cant-see-'hind-me-cause-of-my-oily-black-smoke-from-this-car >people. :-) > > And i ain't no YUCKKIE Not much :-) Leo Stearns