Have they saved more lives then they’ve taken?
I believe the stats were pretty close at one time when airbags first became popular. But that was before the design of the bags themselves changed to make them safer, and people learned how to observe basic safety procedures like NOT SITTING ON THEM!
I think we need to think out the herd a little maybe.
I’m sure they have, but if your foot is resting on one when it goes off, the stats won’t really matter much.
That should read “THIN out the herd…”
I know they can be dangerous but still sitting with your feet resting on the dashboard seems like something that’d be pretty far down on the List of Things People do that Could Possibly Get Them Killed. Right behind bungee jumping and dancing outside during a storm wearing a suit of armour.
Why would anyone with a functioning brain take the risk, however small it seems?
It seems even worse when you consider that a traffic accident is something that is (usually) out of your control. You can drive as safe as you want, and obey every traffic law there is, but if a runaway drunk is going to slam into you, there is little you can do about it.
Why would anyone invest all this money in measures to save their lives, then counter-act it all by sitting with your feet up on them?
First of all, you shouldn’t sit like that in any public place. I don’t need to catch a whiff of your smelly dogs when I walk by, nor do I need to see your gootch on display to the world.
-But that’s just me, no harm done.
Secondly, you shouldn’t sit like that in any car (airbag or not) as the force with with you will be thrust about in an accident will probably do more harm than just the accident would have.
Thirdly, If the car has airbags, and they go off, you’re probably going to spend a good chunk of time in a wheelchair (and I’d say deservedly so!) even if you would ahve otherwise walked away without a scratch.
Fourthly, my tax dollars have to go to pay the the incredibly high cost of your medical care and rehab. Thanks for that!
fizzestothetop, do you wear your seatbelt when driving?
Oh I always drive while not wearing my seatbelt! I also drive while talking on my cell phone while using both hands to eat a Big Mac and drink an alcoholic beverage.:rolleyes:
I was just sayin’ sometimes people sit like that cause it’s comfortable. Is it smart? Probably not. Could you do dumber things while riding in a car? Probably.
I’d rather save my ire for the stupid ass punks who were lighting fireworks while driving down the interstate and sending them out the window and one happened to go off next to my friend who had her window down while driving and it scared the shit out of her (thankfully it did not cause an accident ). That, to me, seems infintely more stupid than resting your feet on the dash.
After 13 odd years of clipping unfortunate accident victims from mangled cars, I can honestly say I’ve never seen anyone injured because their feet were on the dash. That, of course, is not to say it isn’t stupid, in fact it could be fatal, but to pit the activity seems kind of nitpicky.
Traffic Crashes (rather than accidents) cause fractures, dislocations, amputations, avulsions, evicerations, sprains, tears, punctures, burns and the occasional headache. Yet on a stretch of illinois highway that saw one fatality a month for years (until it was resurfaced) I’ve yet to see the bilateral orbit fractures, concussions and dislocated leg parts that would occur with that particular mechanism of injury.
Still think it’s stupid, yeah, but rant worthy? Meh.
I can beat that:D. On the way to Ohio last weekend, I saw some stupid woman driving an Accord. With a dog on her lap. The dog had his paws on the steering wheel and was looking out the front window. I don’t know if he was actually attempting to steer, but he sure looked like he was concentrating very hard. I drove past and gave the woman a ‘what the fuck are you doing?’ look.
I’m not fond of SUVs, but that beat anything I’ve ever seen in one.
Ava
There is always a bigger idiot.
Point of order: You do not get to use a complaint involving someone else’s excessive rate of speed when you, in fact, passed him…
I drive an armor plated, turbo charged Swedish snowmobile, otherwise known as a Volvo. Loves me that armor plate here in Sili Valley, yes indeedy.
Point of order: You do not get to bring forth a point of order based on incorrect information.
An airbag deploys at upwards of 200mph, the speed of the vehicle is irrelevant. That is to say, the speed at which the bag shoots out when it inflates can be around the 200mph mark. I wasn’t referring to the speed of the car at all.
Yes, I passed him, but at the time traffic was very thick and it just happened to be my lane’s turn to crawl forward a few inches.
Ethilrist, it’s the airbag that deploys at 200 mph, not the car it is installed in. NGNL is not complaining about excessive speed.
Must…preview…
Oh. Sorry.
Never mind.
A quick apology to Ethilrist. My post sound a little too harsh upon re-read…
If you’re driving an Abrams tank and reading a newspaper, can you expect to get pitted?
Let me get this clear…
You’re upset that someone is engaged in a behavior which in no way endangers youself, others, minors, other people incompetent to make their own decisions, small, cute, adorable puppies, or the endangered Lesser California Crested Wommpus. It endangers themselves namely; they could become injured in an auto accident, and as an appropriate punishment for taking the risk, you want someone to get injured in an auto-accident. Not only that, you wish a particularly long-lasting and painful injury upon somebody. Again, becasue they risked themselves to injury.
You boggle the mind.
Additionally, since this was at low-speeds and the only real injury causing risk was the airbag, are you aware that many new SUV’s come equipped with a function to disable the airbag?
So… what do you do in your free time?
Elliot
Yeah, but only by those rare people who carry a shoulder launched missile.