Rollover Blues
 

http://comp.uark.edu/~dmorton/images/misc/seat_belt.jpg

From Yahoo:<blockquote><i>Four teens were in the vehicle during the crash. Two passengers in the rear seat were not wearing seatbelts and ejected in the rollover. One was killed and the other suffered serious injuries. The two front seat passengers both wore seatbelts and received minor injuries. </i></blockquote>

Yet another crash from a rollover-mobile. Er, I mean, an SUV. Do you wear your seat belt?

My car has automatic shoulder harnesses that forcibly strap you in. But I always wear the lap belt too.

As a child I didn't wear them...and they didn't become mandatory in Missouri until the late 80s. But ever since I started driving, I've always worn one. It hasn't saved me yet, but it certainly could some day.

Charming composition, with the rollover in the background and the seatbelt sign in the foreground. I wonder if the photographer had to rip the sign out of the ground somewhere else to get the shot ...

I come from a family that originally did not believe in seatbelts ... the 'they mess your clothes and are uncomfortable" kind of people.

I had to UNTIE the knots in the belts when I went to take my driver's test, and was complimented because I insisted the trooper secure his before I began my test (once upon a time they were NOT mandatory).

Anyway, I came to appreciate seatbelts when I was a frequent passenger in a car that had malfunctioning door latches. The seatbelts were all the stood between us and 202 at high speeds.

I've never needed a seat belt. Never had a single problem. But I wear one every time I get into a car.

I'd rather walk down Main Street in Norristown naked than not wear a seat belt.

Nobody in my family ever wore a seat belt when I was growing up. I exhibited some interest in using them of the typical curious little kid "gee what are these funny things for" variety for about a week. In fact my parents once owned a Ford LTD that they bought from a neighbor, who had completely disabled the seat belt warning system. (According to the car's manual, the alarm would go off if you had a heavy package in the passenger seat. The suggested remedy was to fasten the belt around the package.) But then when I was about 15 or so NC passed mandatory seat belt laws and we all started wearing them.

As to needing the belts--you may recall my encounter with a deer on I-81 in Virginia last summer. I also had a run-in in 1997 with a guy who made a left turn in front of me when he shouldn't have, which resulted in me hitting the front passenger's side of his car. In both cases I would have almost certainly slammed into the steering wheel, and in 1997 probably the windshield, without the seatbelts.

Good idea. The shoulder belt without the lap belt WILL KILL you, guaranteed.:(

Always wear mine. Always have. Parents beat it into me as a kid. It's instinct now, and I don't even think about it.

Do the same with your kid. They really do save a lot of lives.

I encounter so many people on the road that make me wish they would NOT wear theirs;)

Hey dude, no shit. I had to slam my brakes at ~70mph today because a dumb mother fucker on a truck pulled right out in front of me. Makes me wish there was an enforcer around. :)

(People speeding aren't the problem; people doing <b>unpredictable things</b> are the problem.)

That's supposed to be one word.

domofo, i love it!

Apple Blossom festival in Wenatchee, WA, May something, 1990. I'm cruising and talkin' to girls, then I decide to head over to my friends place in East Wenatchee. Because I, Mr. Dumfuck, haven't slept in 48 hours, I fell asleep and woke up wrapped around a telephone pole.

Injuries: None.

I cut the pole in half at the ground, and the engine was still running. I had to shut the damn thing off! They don't make Toyota Celicas like they used to. Somewhere in East Wenatchee there is a police evidence photo of me still seat-belted into the car before I opened the door and stepped out. I have the biggest, stupidest grin on my face.

Wenatchee, Washington
 

A damn fine place to live until Uryoces shows up...

<img src="http://www.newzucanuze.com/images/Wenatchee.jpg">

My Wenatchee Indian name is "Sleepy Destroyer of Wooden Poles"! Heh!

That's a picture from the southish side of the Wenatchee Valley. The Columbia River is on the left/center and the Wenatchee River forks into it on the right. The right side of the image is Wenatchee proper, and on the left is East Wenatchee. That small valley on the right leads up to Mission Ridge, roughly 12 miles away as the crow flies. NBN, I wanna say you're photoing that from the Sunnyslope area.

Correctamundo, my friend
 

It's where Lin went to elementary school.

<img src="http://www.newzucanuze.com/images/Sunnyslope.jpg">

Don't you just love the Cellar?

I've used my seat belt twice (in the sense of having it prevent serious injury), but I still don't wear it all the time. Yeah, I'm a hardhead.

For the record, I do not and would not walk down Main Street in Norristown (or even Manayunk) naked.

You choice, Russ.

&lt;/PC&gt;Darwin had a theory about this...&lt;PC&gt;

That is just about the worst thing I've ever seen in my whole life.

Isn't that an automatically-retracting shoulder belt in the picture?

I think the picture is fake. What kind of a photographer would take and then publish such a picture?

Is this a photo of a real incident, or is it one of those pre-prom cautionary Public Service things?

Shocking, either way.

Where are their injuries, exactly? Are they hidden from view, or did they just pour fake blood all over themselves?

Going through a windshield head first will cause a thousand cuts, even with laminated safety glass. Ask any parent how much blood comes out of any head wound. Working on a wrecker you see stuff like this a lot, especially on prom nights.

So, where'd you find the pic? I know stuff like this happens <i>all the time</i>, but now I'm just curious about the picture itself.

Definately fake. As pointed out, those are automatic seat belts. The only way to make them "not work" is to unhook them where they attach to the door frame. If that had actually happened, you wouldn't see the belt, just the piece it attaches to.

If it were real, the only possible way for it to be that way would if they climed in the car, shut the door, ducked under the seatbelt intentionally, and left it attached to the door fastner. Why on earth anyone would do that is beyond me, because you'd have to stretch the belt out far enough so it was pressed behind you, and then ran up the side of the door. While it was doing so, it would be basicly pushing you foreward, or rubbing on your arm.

Somehow I really doubt they'd go to all the trouble just to avoid wearing their seatbelt.

[edit]
Plus, the head wound. For the size of those two wounds on that guys's forehead, he'd have a TON more blood on his face. I was in a wreck where my forehead struck the mirror and cut aboutn an inch open above my eyebrow. I bled a ton, soaked my whole face and hair. With the size of those "cuts" on his head, there's no way he'd just have a dab of red on his suit. It'd be crimson and black, not white and black.
[/edit]

Quzah.

The picture came from consumptionjunction.com which is not safe for work.
Actually there are a number of ways around the seat belt issue and have all been used to save prom dresses from wrinkles and dirt.
Given the severity of the damage it would probably not have returned to the position in the picture if it had been in the in use position whether the belt was around or behind her. So the picture was staged or the belt was disabled. Or neither. Or both.
Anywho...I believe it's a legitimate illustration of the consequences of not using belts. Got your attention, didn't it. Hope it got Russoto's:eek:

Ok, let me see if I understand you, 'cause I think I may be getting the wrong idea here. Do you agree with the following suppositions?
<blockquote>A) <i>Lies are okay as long as the point you're trying to drive home is noble.</i>
B) <i>Shock Propaganda is okay as long as the end justifies the means.</i></blockquote>

What I'm saying is:
1- I don't know for sure if this picture was staged or not but it doesn't matter because it's depicting real events that I have personally witnessed.
2- It's not shock propaganda to accurately depict the consequences of actions, i.e. my 14 year old sister was killed in such a manner.

So what exactly <I>is</I> shock propaganda?

Would you consider anti-abortionists showing mangled, dead fetuses shock propaganda?

Personally? It's a usually semi-accurate portrayal of a small part of a larger complex issue. Anti-abortionists, PETA and the Bush administration use them often. We could go on endlessly on semantics. If you feel the picture I posted is shock propaganda, fine. It doesn't shock me because I've seen the real deal too many times and there's no need for propaganda on something that's so simple. If you crash without a seat belt you'll probably get hurt.:)

No, I just like playing devil's advocate. :cool:

I would consider both to be shock propaganda, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's not accurate, or that I'm against it.

Shock me? Not likely
 

I believe that picture is staged, and not just because of the belts. It looks like the sort of thing they do in high schools to illustrate the dangers of drunken driving and the like. (note that it's in a parking lot, and it looks like a professional shot, despite it being "obviously" very soon after the accident)

However, even if it was real... I've rolled a car myself and I've had an airbag go off in front of me in a rear-end collision. If that doesn't get me the seat-belt religion, why would gory pictures?

roll-over blues
 

Dear Person:

Although I have never had the displeasure of inverting a vehicle such as yours unfortunately was, my heart goes out to you. I think that if you try a vehicle with a relatively low center of gravity, coupled with some relatively large (255VR 45/16x9") tires and use roll-control bars in the front (and I sereiously recomend
the rear wheels too, 4WD or not, you will keep your bodywork
in better shape, and maybe your body might like you better too,
if you did! :cool:

Personally, I really like putting the top down on my Christine.
Whenever this happens, some force seems to take over, with
no real input to explain the radically weird skidpad, 0-60mph,
and top speed #'s. Probably mostly in my mind, but, she does really cool stuff to the head&body @ 100+ . No, I'd NEVER!

As an aside, I've been interested in the Elephants and their required lighting/marking status.

People tick me off when they "shouldn't" ,"wouldn't" and
all that nonsense! Your Pal, FluffyTheKat

A friend of mine from work rolled his truck a couple months ago, and it actually slid down the road upside-down for a short ways. He was standing completely unscathed outside the vehicle when the policemen arrived and asked him where the body was (I think that's when the severity of the accident sunk in). The firemen even brought the jaws of life! Unneccesary, of course.

My favorite anecdote of that story: as the truck was sliding down the road upside-down, he kept slamming on the brakes and couldn't for the life of him figure out why they weren't working!

BTW - Welcome to the Cellar, Fluffy!

Yeah, welcome Fluffy (even though sound like a Mopar freak).:D
Accidents aren't fun but sliding down the road at 80mph watching the sparks coming off the steel snaps on the front of my helmet was kind of cool.

I am NOT switching to a Plymouth Fury or other such car. My Subaru Outback is big enough, and I much prefer my Miata. Which also does some wierd things as you approach 100... for one thing, you enter the power band of the engine at around 82 in sixth, so the car just wants to go faster after that point, and you're going 95+ without even thinking about it.

Anyway, it was a tripped rollover; a Toyota Tercel has a pretty low center of gravity but when you slide one or two wheels up an embankment, it rolls real good.