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From: jayt@ssc-vax.UUCP (Jay T McCanta)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Seat Belts - blaming the victim
Message-ID: <689@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 30-Apr-85 13:11:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: ssc-vax.689
Posted: Tue Apr 30 13:11:16 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 2-May-85 00:57:28 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Boeing Aerospace Co., Seattle, WA
Lines: 37

It seems to me that everyone is  missing the  point in  the seat belt
issue.  The issue has nothing  to do  with legislation  rights of the
gov't, nor does it deal with personal rights to risk  one's own neck.
The real issue has  been convoluted  into the  seat belt  issue.  The
real issue is that auto's are not being manufactured to be  safe.  It
is  a  lot  easier  to blame  the victim  instead of  blaming the car
makers.  The big Detroit boys claim that to make cars safer, it would
increase the cost too much.  The increased  cost would  lead to fewer
being purchased.  Because fewer  cars would  be sold,  there would be
need  for  fewer  workers.    The need  for fewer  workers results in
layoffs which make the politian look bad.  Read this backward and you
see why the lawmakers are not making the requirements tougher.  

Just how much extra would it  cost to  make a  car safer?   About six
years ago, the Dept.  of Transportation  design a  car.   It was very
attractive (looked similar to a Camero) and were  fuel efficient (use
an Honda engine) and the  chances of  surviving hitting  a brick wall
head-on  at  55  mph  were  above  80%.   The chances  of surviving a
side-ways crash were less, but  still well  above what  any car being
produced  could  do.    They  built  the  car for  around $8000 (1979
dollars).  The Dept's position was that if the gov't  could built one
car for this amount, then the private sector  could mass-produce them
for a lot less and still make a profit.  

Seat belt laws are not the answer, although the car makers would like
us to believe it, but safer care are the answer.  Let us stop blaming
the victim in this issue.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------
     I HATE CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY ...
                                 ... and I live in Seattle. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jay T. McCanta  
Boeing Aerospace     These ideas are mine and I claim them.
Kent, Wa.            My employer may not want to share in claiming.

{uw-beaver|adiron|cesonix|argus|purdue}!ssc-vax!jayt