A Bad Case of Irony

[RacingManiac]

I can see not wearing a helmet being more "airy" or "free", though the concept of riding a motorcycle is not my idea of fun, and if I do ride I'd probably be wearing all the gear I can to not kill myself in I do crash....

Seat belt though, I can't agree with not wearing it. Not like riding a bike where you straddle the bike with your body. In a car you are pretty much just a passenger and not being belted in place just creates distraction as you being toss about in a tin can....try driving something with more than a G of cornering potential with a loosely belted position, and you can barely hold on in most cases....and this is in a molded, fitted seat.....

[Badsight]

I like a person with self belief. But to believe you will never crash is optimistic. No matter how highly you rate your driving skills and concentration you only need to stuff up for a brief second.

crashes happen every hour of every day. the thing is i dont believe , or act , like a seatbelt can save me from them. a proper attitude toward driving is more important in my view than proper driver training (whatever that is - varies person to person as far as ive seen)

safety aids , stability control , abs , crush structures , traction control - all this cotton wool is helping people who would otherwise eliminate themselves

saving lives on the road by legislation & safety devices is missing the point that human beings attitudes are generally crap

having been in (Very) heavy crashes/impacts im more than awear of what happens in a sudden stop & what im risking not wearing a seatbelt (ever)

people who have never experienced sudden decelleration really are clueless to the forces involved. that whole body G slam isnt conveyed thru language well at all

[RacingManiac]

You are crazy, that is all....belt doesn't just help you in a crash....

[crisis]

crashes happen every hour of every day. the thing is i dont believe , or act , like a seatbelt can save me from them.

That explains it. The seatbelt is not designed to save you form having a crash. It is for after.

a proper attitude toward driving is more important in my view than proper driver training (whatever that is - varies person to person as far as ive seen)

and what exactly is this proper attitude?

safety aids , stability control , abs , crush structures , traction control - all this cotton wool is helping people who would otherwise eliminate themselves

I am a bit of a Darwinist to but I don’t think everybody who has a crash deserves to die or be seriously maimed. Survival of the fittest also applies to survival of those smart enough to try to ensure it despite what threats present themselves.

Having been in (Very) heavy crashes/impacts im more than awear of what happens in a sudden stop & what im risking not wearing a seatbelt (ever)

people who have never experienced sudden decelleration really are clueless to the forces involved. that whole body G slam isnt conveyed thru language well at all

Mate you cant possibly have been in heavy impacts with very sudden deceleration. The first thing that happens is you are thrown forward and into the steering wheel or dash.

For the car crash scenario where a car stops in 1 foot from a speed of 30 mi/hr, the force on the driver is -
• Deceleration = 4836 ft/s2 = 1474 m/s2 = 150 g's
• Force = 24068 lb = 107059 N = 12 tons!!

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/carcr2.html


Your face would loo like a squashed pie with tomato sauce.

[Badsight]

For the car crash scenario where a car stops in 1 foot from a speed of 30 mi/hr.

well head-ons at 50 km/h happen a lot. surviving them is a regular occurance

a complete stop in 1 foot - how often does that happen. most crashes ive witnessed/viewed do not have a complete cessitation of motion within 1 foot

Survival of the fittest also applies to survival of those smart enough to try to ensure it despite what threats present themselves

which is where the proper attitude towards driving comes in

but i dont believe darwins theory holds sway over modern people - the fittest progeny are not dominating human society & the weakest are being kept from extinction

but I don’t think everybody who has a crash deserves to die or be seriously maimed

well you would have to have a shocking lack of empathy if you did

[Matra et Alpine]

^ A usual misapplication of Darwin's theories.

It's NOT the "strongest" who survive , it is the one that can ADAPT that survives.
Not adapting to use safety devices that limit damage is dinosaur-logic

Besides, with no belt then in an accident all those bodies INSIDE the vehicle are capable of inflicting serious damage on other occupants !!

[Lotec_Sirius]

I ride my bicycle 2 miles or so everyday and to be honest, I have no helmet. But after reading this and giving it some thought, I will have to buy one now.

Safety first, before political convictions

[Badsight]

^ A usual misapplication of Darwin's theories.

It's NOT the "strongest" who survive , it is the one that can ADAPT that survives.

i said strongest ?!?

fittest/quickest adapting isnt necessary for survival in our modern era. & we are making big efforts to help/keep the weakest alive

even in helping make parents of the (for whatever reasons) repoductivly weakest members of our species

[Matra et Alpine]

My summation of "the fittest progeny are not dominating human society & the weakest are being kept from extinction"

Just adding my bit that Darwin is about ADAPTATION and not as the common press report it just about the fittest surviving.

A neat comaprison on adaptation is in the area of social networking
Can facebook adapt quickly enough to control friends in a way to compete with Google+ idea ? FB is the current "strongest" but if it doesn't move quickly may find it loses out ... anyone remember bebo ?

[pimento]

Bebo never caught on outside of Europe.

On evolution - Humans have likely ceased to evolve in any meaningful way. There's no need anymore - there's no changing environment to adapt to anymore, we now just adapt our environment to us.