WEAR SAFETY BELTS

This morning at around 5:45, a friend of mine was leaving a party. He wasn't intoxicated. Somebody noticed that he wasn't wearing his safety belt, and told him jokingly that he should put it on. As he was pulling away he said "I don't believe in seatbelts!" At around 6:00, he dozed off, went over the center line into an oncoming semi truck, hit the rear wheel of the truck, and rolled into the ditch. The only outward physical damage was a small scratch under his eye, but the unofficial cause of death was brain trauma (what the police told his parents, anyways). Sounds like something that buckling up may have prevented. Figured I'd share in case anybody here "doesn't believe in seatbelts".

 

Geez, I wonder if the airbag killed him. Those things only "work" if your head and body are in the right place; they're actually somewhat dangerous explosive devices otherwise.

Being asleep AND unbuckled could've left him in a weird position where the exploding airbag might've knocked him silly (slammed him into the ceiling or A-pillar or who-knows-what).

I'm not dissing airbags, mind you -- without the airbag, the IMPACT surely would've killed him. But in that situation he would've had obvious external trauma. And who knows what happened during the subsequent roll into the ditch...

So, yeah, what Boddah said: BUCKLE UP! Unibody construction and airbags aren't a SUBSTITUTE for seatbelts, they're just a safety supplement.

 

I am deeply sorry for the lost of your friend. I hope all goes well with his family and all his loved ones. dont learn from experience, learn from people's mistake! buckle up!

 

racing harness is the way.....sorry for your buddy....

 

my condolences

 

I just can't help it but feel for the guys who lost there lives because of what a seat belt could have done. I wear it everytime and I rather not go through the window or whatever.

Sorry to hear.

 

A racing harness without a roll cage is retarded. If you roll your car, the harness will keep you in an upright position, and the collapsed roof will probably break your neck and head. Thus, you will need to add a roll cage.

A roll cage without a helmet is even more retarded. Do you like getting hit in the head with a baseball bat? Well, that's pretty much what will happen if you have a full cage in your car and get into a violent accident with it.

The moral of the story here is that racing equipment needs to stay in race cars (unless you prefer to wear a helmet every time you get into your car ).

 

It's a sad thing.

I always wear by seat belt. It's stupid not to.

I've been in 3 accidents, all not(completely) my fault
-one a 65mph, T'd a guy who thought stopping at a stop sign was optional crossing a 4 lane highway

-the second was at 30mph through an intersection, lady took off at a stop light on our green(not me driving, she was stopped, then took off on red, didn't know why she even did it)

-the third was a fun encounter with a deer on a loose gravel road, very worn tires, and a sharp 90 degree corner(I'm not a slow driver either), slid the car slowly down the ditch, dropped off a 3' culvert and rolled it 270 degrees, drivers side door facing up. The culvert drop off was the only reason it rolled. That was my first Forester, had it a year.

They're durable cars, dented every panel all the way around, chassis completely straight, windows even good short the drivers and drivers side of windsheild from initial impact with the ground. It was neat that I could stand on the door panels without denting them, one foot, 170 lbs. They're well built cars.

Still, the seat belt is the only thing holding you in place. Without it, you're screwed, plain and simple. Accidents are unexpected. You can't prepare for them.