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From: jbn@wdl1.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Re: PISSED OFF (seatbelts)
Message-ID: <222@wdl1.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 26-Jan-85 01:21:51 EST
Article-I.D.: wdl1.222
Posted: Sat Jan 26 01:21:51 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 28-Jan-85 05:59:51 EST
Sender: notes@wdl1.UUCP
Organization: Ford Aerospace, Western Development Laboratories
Lines: 14
Nf-ID: #R:rna:-5033604:wdl1:3600012:000:744
Nf-From: wdl1!jbn    Jan 25 21:04:00 1985


     All production cars sold in the U.S. have to pass a 35 MPH barrier
collision test.  This means that an instrumented dummy is belted in and
the test car is propelled at 35 MPH into an unyielding barrier, and no part
of the dummy can register forces above limits considered to represent death
or serious injury.
     In other words, it is next to impossible to kill yourself below 35MPH
with your seat belt fastened.
     Air bags are still awfully violent, because they have to inflate after
the collision has occured.  Some effort has been spent on schemes to detect
iminent collision and inflate an air bag less violently (allowing maybe
100 ms for the job) but the equipment (involving minature radar systems)
isn't reliable enough yet.