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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tikal!sigma!bill
From: bill@sigma.UUCP (Bill Swan)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.auto
Subject: Re: airbags
Message-ID: <581@sigma.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 7-Jan-86 16:09:06 EST
Article-I.D.: sigma.581
Posted: Tue Jan  7 16:09:06 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Jan-86 06:18:54 EST
References: <294@frog.UUCP> <408@gcc-milo.ARPA> <761@unc.unc.UUCP> <1163@mtx5a.UUCP> <472@eneevax.UUCP>
Reply-To: bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan)
Distribution: net
Organization: Summation Inc, Woodinville WA
Lines: 25
Keywords: belts 'n bags.
Xref: watmath net.politics:12828 net.auto:8984
Summary: 

In article <472@eneevax.UUCP> hsu@eneevax.UUCP (Dave Hsu) writes:
>In article <1163@mtx5a.UUCP> mat@mtx5a.UUCP (m.terribile) writes:
>>I do.  I want my three-point harness.  I don't want a system that will knock
>>me away from the controls when I may need the most control effort - and skill.

>Ah, here we disagree.  I really can't think of any skills I'd need in
>the middle of a collision other than the need to make sure I haven't
>reflexively locked my limbs, waiting for quadruple compound impact fractures.
>It would be nice to know that something collapsible besides my arms is waiting
>to cushion me.

Dave,

I was involved in a wreck a few years ago in which I was wearing my seatbelt.
I was rear-ended and pushed into oncoming traffic. I had just enough enough
time after impact to haul myself back upright (my seat had collapsed from the
acceleration from 0 to about 40 MPH in 1/2 second or so) to grab the remains of
my steering wheel and steer the car safely back to my side of the road to avoid
further collisions.

Without a belt, I would have gone out the rear window. With a bag, I could not
have regained control quickly enough to avoid a head-on collision. 

-- 
William Swan  {ihnp4,decvax,allegra,...}!uw-beaver!tikal!sigma!bill