Re: Seat Belts

["Graydon D. Stuckey" <graydon@apollo.gmi.edu>]

wallace david <wallace@mhd1.moorhead.msus.edu> said:
> 
> > He was driving a 1984 GT coupe near cherry...well none of these guys were 
> > wearing their seatbelts and they hit the ditch became ariborne and rolled 
> > the car over witnesses said one of the guys was thrown from the car.
> [snip]
> >  My son however was not 
> > so lucky. He has a crushed ankle and a broken tibia...he goes into 
> > surgery today for pins and a plate.
> > 
> > If these guys had been wearing their seatbelts their injuries may not 
> > have been so severe.

Best wishes to your son.  I hope he recovers well.  I also hope that he
learns to wear his seatbelt.  I'm with Al Powell - I can't understand why
people don't wear seat belts.  I've done some experimental crash testing,
using a high speed, high G sled.  75 gs in 15- 20 msec!  You can't believe
the forces that we saw in the legs, back and head of the crash dummies! 
Do you know that the government upper limit on femur loads is 2500 pounds
compression! On EACH leg!  I can hardly imagine what my legs would look
like after a load that high pushing on the end of my knee.  I did tests
with and with out seat belts, and with some other rather unconventional
restraint devices, including various styles of airbags.  Those air bags
seem to work in an ideal crash, although I'm still not sure I'd prefer
one if I had a choice.  I still think a good seat belt is better.

Later, ---------------------------------------------------------- 
Graydon D. Stuckey 	'85 Mazda RX7 GS, no toys 
graydon@apollo.gmi.edu 	'86 Audi 5000 CS Turbo Quattro, has toys
Flint, Michigan USA	'89 Thunderbird SC, lotsa toys