Evolution still happens = seatbelt wearing ?

Rouxenator

Rouxenator

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I used to get very upset driving around and seeing how many other motorist were not wearing seatbelts. But not anymore.

Personally I have always worn a seatbelt because that is how I was raised. I have also been involved in a write-off accident from which I got off unharmed. This was in a bakkie which only safety features was the seatbelts. So I learned how important seatbelts are.

The reason I do not get upset anymore when I see many a car drive by with none of the occupants buckled up is simple. Evolution. In the times of old only the fittest would survive, but the playfield has changed and now it is the smartest that survive.

So then, is your genepool secure behind the wheel ?
 
The problem is, that you can wear a seatbelt all you like, it's not going to help in today's cheap Chinese and Korean imports.
 
Rouxenator said:
I used to get very upset driving around and seeing how many other motorist were not wearing seatbelts. But not anymore.

Personally I have always worn a seatbelt because that is how I was raised. I have also been involved in a write-off accident from which I got off unharmed. This was in a bakkie which only safety features was the seatbelts. So I learned how important seatbelts are.

The reason I do not get upset anymore when I see many a car drive by with none of the occupants buckled up is simple. Evolution. In the times of old only the fittest would survive, but the playfield has changed and now it is the smartest that survive.

So then, is your genepool secure behind the wheel ?
Click to expand...

Nope your wrong... If only the smart survive then this guy would not have made it past the age of 3 :p
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=138406

Turiko said:
The problem is, that you can wear a seatbelt all you like, it's not going to help in today's cheap Chinese and Korean imports.
Click to expand...

I think the cars of today, yes even the tinfoil ones, are a lot safer than a couple of years ago.
 
I disagree and agree to some extent to what the OP is saying.

in a car crash you will have odds to work with.

in one crash, there is a 50% that if said person had his safety belt on he would have made it. Now if you look at the scene, the person died and had a safety belt on. Yes I agree that a safety belt should be worn, however in some cases that is what causes the death of the occupant ;) in a normal accident, which would have caused no fatality anyway - Yes you would be unharmed and the person that didn't have his on will be very seriously injured. But if it was a crash that would be fatal - With or without a safety belt you would be fk'd any which way.

a Safety belt does not save lives as such, it prevents injuries in most cases. If you're in a head on at 120km/h your fk'd any which way ;) with or without the safety belt.

I wear mine to prevent serious injury, not to save my life .....
 
I thought safety belts are only effective in head on collision?
 
Yes - ofcourse seatbelts are not the be-all and end-all in road safety. If it was then no one would make developments like airbags and other safety features. The the seatbelt is primary in safety devices.

Pitbull said:
...however in some cases that is what causes the death of the occupant...
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Please do explain ?
 
Rouxenator said:
Yes - ofcourse seatbelts are not the be-all and end-all in road safety. If it was then no one would make developments like airbags and other safety features. The the seatbelt is primary in safety devices.


Please do explain ?
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If the safety belt release is jammed after the accident, the person is stuck in the car. Fire or drowning will follow.

The G-force on some accidents will cause you to break your neck. The current design of safety belts in cars are for low G-force impacts. This is the reason racing cars have different safety belts.

I have seen an accident where a person got decapitated because of his safety belt. I have no idea if there was a problem with the belt but the passanger got off with serious injuries but survived. The driver's head was ripped from his body because of the impact and flew through the windscreen.

The passanger is paralised from the chest down but is alive today.

It was a head on accident between 2 cars, a Golf and a Nissan. The Lady in the Golf also survived but died 4 days later due to internal injuries. And she also had her safety belt on ;)
 
Rouxenator said:
Yes - ofcourse seatbelts are not the be-all and end-all in road safety. If it was then no one would make developments like airbags and other safety features. The the seatbelt is primary in safety devices.
Click to expand...

+1

Also, airbags are supplementary restraint systems (SRS) i.e. they work in addition to your seatbelt. Btw, did anyone know that, in most modern cars equipped with airbags, your airbag won't work if you're not wearing your seatbelt? That's why you get that annoying seatbelt warning all the time. The logic behind it is also simple; if the seatbelt = on then seat must be occupied so, in case of a collision, deploy airbag.
 
JK8 said:
I thought safety belts are only effective in head on collision?
Click to expand...
Take some time, think of all the different impacts a car could get as well as the inertia of a human body. You will soon see that it is not only frontal collisions that could jerk you out of your seat.

Pitbull said:
If the safety belt release is jammed after the accident, the person is stuck in the car. Fire or drowning will follow.
Click to expand...
They are designed not to jam. If anything causes them to jam that thing would have most likely travel through the space where your body is so you would be dead already. You watch to much movies, cars don't catch fire that often and water will not jam it either.

Pitbull said:
The G-force on some accidents will cause you to break your neck. The current design of safety belts in cars are for low G-force impacts. This is the reason racing cars have different safety belts.
Click to expand...
Thats where airbags come into play - they are also only effective if you wear your seatbelt.

The passanger is paralised from the chest down but is alive today.
Click to expand...
...as opposed to being dead if no seatbelt was worn ?

The Lady in the Golf also survived but died 4 days later due to internal injuries. And she also had her safety belt on ;)
Click to expand...
... as opposed to dying on the scene if no seatbelt was worn ?
 
Rouxenator said:
Take some time, think of all the different impacts a car could get as well as the inertia of a human body. You will soon see that it is not only frontal collisions that could jerk you out of your seat.


They are designed not to jam. If anything causes them to jam that thing would have most likely travel through the space where your body is so you would be dead already. You watch to much movies, cars don't catch fire that often and water will not jam it either.

Thats where airbags come into play - they are also only effective if you wear your seatbelt.

...as opposed to being dead if no seatbelt was worn ?

... as opposed to dying on the scene if no seatbelt was worn ?
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Strange but that was the only one not wearing a seatbelt ;)

I have been on the scene of 100's of accidents, maybe check my pictures and you will see what I mean. I get called by a mate who works in JMPD to these scenes as I was busy with a project to study type of impacts, direction of force, damage of vehicle, crumble zones, and suvivablity rate in certain cenarios.

I have pictures that will make you choke/faint/throw up/crap your pants all at the same time ;)

I have seen many seatbelts jammed, i have seen many burnt out cars from a normal back-end smash. I would suggest you argue with someone that has had less experience in this field ;)

Sorry but wearing a safety belt is in no way a good or a bad thing. (It's all about what type of accident, what forces are involved and and and.) I say use it as it's always better than not having any protection. Like I said just refrain from saying wearing a seat belt will save your life as that is not the case ;)


On the subject, does anyone know the law in regards to a female driver being pregnant and a safety belt ?
 
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Pitbull said:
I disagree and agree to some extent to what the OP is saying.

in a car crash you will have odds to work with.

in one crash, there is a 50% that if said person had his safety belt on he would have made it. Now if you look at the scene, the person died and had a safety belt on. Yes I agree that a safety belt should be worn, however in some cases that is what causes the death of the occupant ;) in a normal accident, which would have caused no fatality anyway - Yes you would be unharmed and the person that didn't have his on will be very seriously injured. But if it was a crash that would be fatal - With or without a safety belt you would be fk'd any which way.

a Safety belt does not save lives as such, it prevents injuries in most cases. If you're in a head on at 120km/h your fk'd any which way ;) with or without the safety belt.

I wear mine to prevent serious injury, not to save my life .....
Click to expand...

Passengers look at me funny when I ask them to put on their safety belts...well, a couple of months ago I lost a friend and another friend who was in the same car broke several bones, including his hip after being tossed out of a rolling car near De Waal Drive.
 
brixton tower said:
Passengers look at me funny when I ask them to put on their safety belts...well, a couple of months ago I lost a friend and another friend who was in the same car broke several bones, including his hip after being tossed out of a rolling car near De Waal Drive.
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If you are the driver of the car then by law you must enforce seatbelt usage inside the car.
 
brixton tower said:
Passengers look at me funny when I ask them to put on their safety belts...well, a couple of months ago I lost a friend and another friend who was in the same car broke several bones, including his hip after being tossed out of a rolling car near De Waal Drive.
Click to expand...

I agree.

Like I said, a safety belt should be worn, I have never said not to. However it's not a life saver. I have seen an accident which if the guy had his safety belt on he would prob have been ok. Same thing, Bakkie's tyre bust, bakkie rolled, guy was flug from the bakkie. He was found pinned under the bakkie and his head was smashed open against a big rock.

That was a nasty scene :(

I hardly ever wear my seatbelt in urban traffic, even though I know most accidents occure there. I do however put on my seat belt when I'm on the highway. Nasty habbit I know.

I'm 100% for wearing a seat belt. But to judge a person not wearing one is wrong. He might just be in an accident which he would have survived if he didn't have it on or other way round.

Life is a strange thing, I have seen people walk out of accidents with a cut only to their forehead. But upon approaching the scene you see the car and think to yourself "No way anyone could have survived this".

a Taxi drove in under a Cement truck some time ago. The whole combi was right under the truck from a side impact. Once the Firebrigade removed the combi from the truck, this taxi driver was as pale as a white sheet, with some minor cuts on his legs and a broken ankle. He never even made a peep while we where there standing and thinking there is no one alive.

Luckely he was the only one in the taxi and there was not even a need to take him to hospital, but they did as a precaution.

I have seen some wierd things in my life :D
 
Pitbull said:
I have seen an accident where a person got decapitated because of his safety belt. I have no idea if there was a problem with the belt but the passanger got off with serious injuries but survived. The driver's head was ripped from his body because of the impact and flew through the windscreen.
Click to expand...

I found that impossible to believe. Sure, you might have seen a decapitation but it was not caused due to g-forces acting on the head. It must have been caused by a defective seatbelt or one that was not worn correctly but most likely by the neck striking a solid object.

Think about it: If deceleration (not physical impact) could be SO violent that it rips your head off then surely your arms should also break off! That just does not sound right. You'll need to have a jet engine strapped to the back of your head in order for deceleration to pull it off your body.

So I went and searched around on Google a bit but could not find one single reference to a correctly worn safety belt having decapitated someone. I DID find references to cases where only the shoulder harness was worn and not the lap belt that caused the occupant to submarine, causing decapitation. But that's not the same.
 
StrongTurd said:
I found that impossible to believe. Sure, you might have seen a decapitation but it was not caused due to g-forces acting on the head. It must have been caused by a defective seatbelt or one that was not worn correctly but most likely by the neck striking a solid object.

Think about it: If deceleration (not physical impact) could be SO violent that it rips your head off then surely your arms should also break off! That just does not sound right. You'll need to have a jet engine strapped to the back of your head in order for deceleration to pull it off your body.

So I went and searched around on Google a bit but could not find one single reference to a correctly worn safety belt having decapitated someone. I DID find references to cases where only the shoulder harness was worn and not the lap belt that caused the occupant to submarine, causing decapitation. But that's not the same.
Click to expand...

Like I said, I'm no accident investigator. When I looked in the car the body had a seatbelt on. But no head, why as stated above I have no idea. I have also only seen this once. Whether it was because of the safety belt or no I don't know. What struck me odd was that the only person not wearing a seatbelt survived ;) I figured it was because the passenger had the seat inclined and was sleeping by the time of the accident. The lower body took most of the impact.
 
Rouxenator said:
I used to get very upset driving around and seeing how many other motorist were not wearing seatbelts. But not anymore.

Personally I have always worn a seatbelt because that is how I was raised. I have also been involved in a write-off accident from which I got off unharmed. This was in a bakkie which only safety features was the seatbelts. So I learned how important seatbelts are.

The reason I do not get upset anymore when I see many a car drive by with none of the occupants buckled up is simple. Evolution. In the times of old only the fittest would survive, but the playfield has changed and now it is the smartest that survive.

So then, is your genepool secure behind the wheel ?
Click to expand...

A few stiff fines MADE me learn to put it on. :o
 
Car & Driver had an article a couple of years back where they were talking about the biggest impact of safety measures on death rates in car accidents. Made for every interesting reading.

Safety belts: reduced death rates by 40-50%
Stability control: 15% or so.
Airbags: 1-2%
ABS: Under 1%.

They were working off National Highway Institute and IIHS statistics.
 
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