For our younger members and maybe...

[J.]

[quote]One of my close friends is actually driving daily now and I am really scared because he takes my other friends with him and rides around. He's only 17...just passed the test a week ago. I try to persuade him to wait until he's older and more experienced. Of course he doesn't listen to me. His attitude is not very stable either...you know the teen attitude. Very ignorant too.

[machineman9]

I remember coming home from cadets one night.

Little *something* of a 17 year old or so was going flat out on their moped down the road. How could we see them? The light from the car reflected off their moped. They were driving in pitch black over the speed limit in jeans and a shirt, with helmet (obviously you are invincible with this helmet) with no lights on.

Complete idiot.



I agree that there should be more ways to make sure safety equipment is used. Why would they put it there if you don't need it? You can learn the hard way... but then you learnt too late for someone elses sake.


*Doesn't go in a car that hasn't got seatbelts working. Would never dream of getting on a motorbike without adequate protection and wouldn't buy a car that didn't have safety parts fully checked*

[Hagar]

I agree that there should be more ways to make sure safety equipment is used. Why would they put it there if you don't need it? You can learn the hard way... but then you learnt too late for someone elses sake.

I've worn a seat belt since the early 1970s, long before it became a legal requirement & wouldn't dream of driving or riding in a car without one. There is a school of thought that seat belts can be dangerous in some circumstances. They can also give you a false sense of security. I'm not keen on the idea of air bags but they seem pretty universal these days.

This is one of those laws that would be very difficult to enforce. It should be easy enough for car manufacturers to make it impossible to start the engine unless the seat belt is secured. My car already has a warning light & beeper to tell you if you forgot to do it up. I remember a car I hired in the US had an ingenious seat belt attached to the door mechanism. When you closed the doors the belt was automatically secured in place. I wonder why they did away with that idea.

*Doesn't go in a car that hasn't got seatbelts working. Would never dream of getting on a motorbike without adequate protection and wouldn't buy a car that didn't have safety parts fully checked*

Unless it's an old banger it should be difficult to find a car without properly working seat belts in the UK. This has been part of the MoT test for many years.  Make sure you know the current legal requirements before getting in a car, minibus or coach. Wearing a seat belt and exemptions

You might also find this interesting. Seat Belts: History

[machineman9]

Well with the having to secure seatbelts thing... Would it make a difference to the passengers? If you are carrying luggage would you need to trick the seats into thinking there is a passenger.

Like a pressure seat. If something is on it, and the belt isn't secured, then would that stop the car starting? I suppose you would just need to do the belts up on all of them before setting off. But if the seatbelt on a passenger seat won't secure, and you aren't carrying a passenger, and need to get it fixed... You could get stuck there because the car will not start.


It is tricky. These systems work, but there are plenty of ifs.


The seatbelt rule on the buses is bull. Noone does it. Not even sure if the drivers do, either.


I have some pretty wierd concerns with being a driver of a car over a rider of motorbike. My mum wants me to get a car because on the whole they perform better in crashes. I want a motorbike. Cheaper, better performance for the price, etc. It is the thought of being trapped inside said car which really worries me about getting one. No I am not claustrophobic but after a severe accident or getting rolled down a hill or into water or something, where you are trapped inside, is just a terrible thought. As my friend pointed out, it is usually bikers who are safer because they know they are at risk. All the clothing is designed to protect... But I do honestly understand that the risks are higher as you can fall and damage or get otherwise mangled. Saw a Think! advert in the cinema yesterday... pretty gruesome... Guy wasn't wearing seatbelt, his rig cage cut his lungs and killed him.


:-/


I think more needs to be done with removing the bad drivers. I have never seen the reason in putting speed cameras up, and then labelling them as there... It is so easy to slow down, go past them, then speed up again.

[Hagar]

Well with the having to secure seatbelts thing... Would it make a difference to the passengers? If you are carrying luggage would you need to trick the seats into thinking there is a passenger.

Like a pressure seat. If something is on it, and the belt isn't secured, then would that stop the car starting? I suppose you would just need to do the belts up on all of them before setting off. But if the seatbelt on a passenger seat won't secure, and you aren't carrying a passenger, and need to get it fixed... You could get stuck there because the car will not start.


It is tricky. These systems work, but there are plenty of ifs.

Not tricky at all. Most cars already have a warning light & beeper like mine. These are activated by some sort of switch only when the seat is occupied. The ignition could work on the same principle. I don't see a problem.

I have some pretty wierd concerns with being a driver of a car over a rider of motorbike. My mum wants me to get a car because on the whole they perform better in crashes. I want a motorbike. Cheaper, better performance for the price, etc. It is the thought of being trapped inside said car which really worries me about getting one. No I am not claustrophobic but after a severe accident or getting rolled down a hill or into water or something, where you are trapped inside, is just a terrible thought. As my friend pointed out, it is usually bikers who are safer because they know they are at risk. All the clothing is designed to protect... But I do honestly understand that the risks are higher as you can fall and damage or get otherwise mangled.

Like most people of my age I started off on motorbikes. I wouldn't dream of riding one now. Too bloomin' dangerous. That goes for push-bikes too.

I think more needs to be done with removing the bad drivers. I have never seen the reason in putting speed cameras up, and then labelling them as there... It is so easy to slow down, go past them, then speed up again.

Don't get me started. In many cases speed cameras are simply money-making machines & have very little to do with road safety. Speed by itself is not dangerous. It all depends on the road conditions, time of day, weather & all sorts of variables which a machine cannot possibly take account of. The sort of driver that wiped the front off expat's wife's car is far more dangerous. http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb2 ... 1227294664
Imagine if he had been riding a motorcycle. It doesn't bear thinking about.

[machineman9]

Well I mean there is no clear way to make sure the systems get used properly. There is gonna have to be a get around.... Which is what people look out for. Why you would want to try and get around wearing a seatbelt or feel the need to double the speed limit for your own purposes is bizarre to me. I do love speed, it is great, but there comes a time and a place (for me, it is when I go flying)


Yeh speed isn't the only factor, but it is a fairly big one. Been doing a bit on car safety, braking distance, stopping distance etc in physics. I learnt a fair bit about how much speed can make a difference. Combined with every thing else, getting from A to B is a lethal activity in a vehicle.


As per most things in life, the idiots and those who don't pay quite enough attention ruin it for the rest of the community. Accidents do happen, but carelessness seems to win the award for most damage caused.