Wow, I want to get one of those drive cams for my wife.

 

About three years ago, I was involved in a similar situation. Everyone says I'm lucky to be alive. Somehow, I emerged from the car without any real injury. I was a little rattled for about a week (think about getting punched in the head by a boxer). I bruised my foot when it got caught on the brake pedal of the car.

I was on a side street approaching a main road. I attempted to stop but was the victim of an ABS failure. The pedal when straight to the floor (with a THUNK sound I might add. There I was flying out into traffic against the traffic light. I whipped the steering wheel to the right trying to pitch the car sideways so I wouldn't end up in the middle of traffic and get T-boned by another car. Made it to the middle lane before I hit something (an old Chevy van with the old style wrap-around metal bumpers). As I hit the passenger side of the van at a 45 degree angle, the rear of my car came around to put me completely up against the side of the van. As the van continued by my car, the wrap-around rear bumper caught the edge of the driver's door and can-openered it. The door got ripped open as the van passed and the car spun another 90 degrees (basically pointing to the street when I came out of). As the car spun, I got thrown towards where the door should have been. If it wasn't for me wearing my seatbelt, I would have been thrown out of the car and probably run over by my own car.

Seatbelts aren't perfect, but they do help you live to tell your side of the accident. I've become so used to wearing them that I feel like something is missing if I don't.

 

Always wear the shoulder and lap belt. Force of habit. Even if I move the truck out of the garage I buckle up. No accident stories or past experience that has made me do it. Not concerned about the law especially. i just began doing so when seat belts came out and have ever since!

 

Seat belts......I say lets have a helmet law for all road users!

 

Hey Brian, Great link...that looked like my wife's dumb a$$ uncle Norman though. lmao

 

I been wearing a seat belt ever since I bought a car in the 70's that had a seat belt interlock. I was hit in the rear by a 18 wheeler once in a 87 Nissan I owned at the time....back in 1989 and the truck rolled over off an embankment and landed on the passenger side. The seat belt "locked" me to the seat the whole time. Had I not had it on...I would have been tossed around in the cab. I managed to unbuckle the thing with no problem. But I must say...that even the doors on a compact truck are heavy when pushing them straight up! I opened the driver door and climbed out. The seat belt "saved" me from getting hurt.

 

I would surely like to know how you figure that? Please note I said I wear mine most of the time. but yes it is mainly so I am left alone by the DOT.
there has been alot of examples here of people bieng saved by seatbelts, and they are all good examples, but I will give 3 short examples for the other side (I could go on with more but these are the 3 most glaring I know of)
1. head on collision 82 chev station wagon, full size, and 85 monte carlo (I think the year on that is correct but about right anyway) 1 person in wagon wearing belt, lost both legs one arm, and most of his face spend 14hrs in surgery to reconstruct his jaw, and the next 18mons in the hospital the other car had 2 people driver was wearing seat belt, and was DOA, passenger no seat belt ended up with 3 broken ribs, and a ruptured spleen.
2 4 adults, and one child in a mini van the child, and one adult were wearing seat belts they rolled the van mostly just minor scrapes, and bruises except 1 adult DOA, the one wearing a seatbelt.
3. family of 6 another mini van all wearing seatbelts except the father/driver all DOA except the father/driver
those aren't coinsendences, and the list does go on but those all happened to people I know.

 

Sounds like the people you know have hard luck. But I still think that in most cases the Seat-belt WILL save your life, and I also agrea that the current standard needs to be re-thought.

 

yea with all the technology they have you would really think they could make a comfortable seat belt, I agree with others that 5point (or atleast 4 point harnesses)are more comfortable, but for the average person they are way too complicated. I even read somewhere several years ago about some manufacture that had developed a rapid expanding foam (just like in the movie demolition man) that in a collision would fill the car, and negate the need for seat belts but haven't heard anymore about that one I suppose it would be way to expensive for any practical purpose but it does tell us someone is looking at alternatives, it would be very interesting to see what kinda things people have come up with that never made it or is in the works cause in reality the current design of seatbelts is over 30yr old technology, just can't believe they haven't come up with something since then.

 

Yeah I hear ya there. By the way no offense meant from earlier comment. Was in a strange mood at the time.

 

I started using a seatbelt in 1961 when I bought a new VW and it had belts. Been using belts since then. I always buckle up. Been in 2 major wrecks: broadsided by a van that ran a red light and run over by a semi. Cars were totalled both times. I was bruised but survived both because the belts kept me in place.

 

I wear my seatbelt when I am in my own vehicle, as do all my family members. When I am in my big truck I only wear it when I have to get my ground pressure checked, so the DOT leaves me alone.

 

I don't know about you guys, but I don't just wear my seatbelt for safety... I also keep it on to hold me in my seat! My truck is kinda geared torquey and it's nice to have that shoulder strap going across your chest when your shifting hard getting on the highway. You guys with manual tranny's know what I'm talking about

 

well they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Click here for my 2 cents worth.

 

Damn.... and everybody said I was lucky to walk away from my accident.

After seeing that, I'm glad you're okay. This is where I usually say "it's only a truck and can be replaced". All that counts is that you're okay. Count your blessings.