[geeks] Mac definitions

[Sandwich Maker]

" From: Shannon <shannon at widomaker.com>
" 
" On 13-Jul-2011 21:29, Sandwich Maker wrote:
" 
" > it's an urban folklore that bigger, heaver cars are safer, and it's
" > true to a point.   but counterintuitively, in this sort of crash
" > you're also safer if you're speeding.
" 
" Only in certain circumstances.

yes, and that sort of crash is one of them.

" If you have an unsafe large 70s car and and unsafe small 70s car (or 80s
" probably), then yes the big one probably wins.

i wasn't speaking 'big' and 'small', i referred to 'slow' and 'fast'.

and i was specifically referring to head-on collisions between moving
vehicles.  -all-things-being-equal- [as i stated] speed gives you an
unfair advantage.

" That's no longer true now.
" 
" Things have changed a lot since the 70s.
" 
" Back then most accidents, just as now, were relatively low speed and
" close to home. They were also the most deadly overall, with a large
" percentage of them resulting in severe injury and death. Even common
" fender benders when I was growing up involved ambulances.
" 
" It was not uncommon for cars to survive even fatal accidents and remain
" usable. My father once worked an accident on a 70s model Ford that had
" been in multiple fatal accidents.
" 
" Now most of those common accidents are "walk away" affairs.
" 
" There are multiple reasons for this, it is not all vehicle construction.
" 
" Up through the 70s several things were typical:
" 
" - cars did not maintain the front seat area's structure
" - cars did not absorb energy in a collision
" - cars did not prevent engine intrusion
" - steal was heavier but weaker

same strength - more mass

heavier to get required strength because lower tensile

" - there was no impact armor/bars in cars (or few had it)

side impact beams were law in '71

" - many people did not wear seat belts
" - many seat belts were lap only which pivot the wearer forward into the
"   dash or the rear seat

shoulder belts were law in '68

" - vehicles did not have anti-lock brakes and other features to help
"   maintain control in adverse situations
" 
" Now things look different:
" 
" - cars tend to preserve the front seat area structure
" - cars absorb most of the energy in a collection
" - cars prevent engine intrusion
" - fuel tanks are safer
" - people are far more likely to be wearing seat belts

people are far more likely to not wear belts b/c 'the airbags will
protect' them

" - seat belts are better now and all require shoulder harness

see above

" - almost all cars now have air bags

req'd by law - don't know yr

" - ...anti-lock breaks
" - ...360 degree impact armor (steel bars in doors and other critical
"   locations)

see above

a point that it's more than just sides

" - some cars even have traction control
" 
" All of those things factor into how survivable a crash is, not just any one.
" 
" There are also a lot of negatives now:
" 
" - there are more distractions
" - road design, especially parking lots, is horrible now
" - people have greatly increased their use of things that should never be
"   used while driving (cellphones, etc)

i'd include this under 'distractions'

btw, driving while distracted is already against the law - nothing spl
needed for cellphones except proof

" - there are more people on the road
" - some safety features in cars have made people lazy

all safety features make people lazy.  it used to be an iihs truism
that volvos were the most-crashed vehicles, b/c their rep encouraged
risky behavior -- until suvs became popular.

this is not to say safety features are a bad idea.  but people will be
people, and some will always push the limits.  in line with that, over
my time as a licensed driver i've seen road manners dive.  this may be
as much due to the demise of traffic bureaus [and effective law
enforcement], as someone else mentioned, as the flowering of little
steel tanks [so perceived, at least] to drive around in.

" That last one is important, although the real cause is that there just
" has never been good driver education in this country, and probably a lot
" of others as well.

that is certainly true.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought