Seatbelts good.

[budgetzagato]

Seatbelts. Just wear 'em.

I know at least one relative (by marriage) who doesn't. As an automobile and driving enthusiast, it drives me crazy that someone would put themselves, their passengers or other drivers at risk. [/rant]

 

[ColonelHaiku]

yes, indeed

I have a nephew attending Chico State who fell asleep at the wheel while driving sans seatbelt on I-5 in central California. He and his sleeping girlfriend (no seatbelt, as well) were thrown clear of their vehicle (Toyota ForeRunner) with nothing more than scrapes, bruises, and an understanding of the term "good fortune".

 

[vircar]

i agree

but the new thing now is driving with your seatbelt on the phone and a dog on your lap or the passenger with their feet on the dash what happens god forbid they get into an accident and the air bag deploys . ive caught a friend of mine with her 9 year old son in the front seat of their suv with the dog on his lap so i asked the question of what if , the response i got was i never thought about it . the problem no one thinks anymore

 

[budgetzagato]

Yeah...

Yeah, not only do people not ponder details like that, they don't read the manual (usually now the size of War and Peace), or take heed of the various AIR BAG warning marks.

 

[AngleT]

witness to a SUV rollover

My wife and I were driving on the interstate behind an SUV in the rain when the SUV started to hydroplane. It slid off into the median and starting to roll; much like your video above. The parents had their seat belts on in the front seat, but the 3 kids playing their video games and sleeping in the back did not. All three kids were ejected from the vehicle. One child (about 8-10 years old) ended up with the front tire of the SUV on his leg,(SUV landed on it's wheels) and the other two only had minor scraps and cuts. Mom and Dad in the front (with the seat belts on) did not get ejected and climbed out the door windows with only minor scraps and airbag burns. A bunch of us lifted the front of the SUV off of the kid's leg so that when the paramedics arrived, he could be taken to the hospital. It was a scary thing to watch. It didn't' seem like it would ever stop flipping.

 

[mx5rush]

Something like 3 years ago, that little town where my parents live had the big one. Some highschool kids at some families house had a all night party, and at something like 4am 6 kids loaded into a 4door F150 and rolled it at over 100mph down a gravel road just like the video... none were belted in, all were ejected.

Amazingly only 2 were killed... the other 4 were all hospital bound, mostly with amazingly minor injuries considering. Broken bones sure, but none were paralyzed or anything like that. My sisters husband was one of the first paramedics on the scene. All of the kids, including the 2 who died, were from people he either knew really well, or had grown up with.

The drunk 16 year old driver did time till he was 18.