Saddened and pissed

[Sindawe]

I got word this morning that drives homes Jim March's statement in another thread.

She was wearing her seatbelt.  The upper windshield area was caved in pretty bad but near as I can tell, the airbag held her back from that and the net result was close to zero injury.  Quite impressive.

One of my youthfull "partners-in-crime" was killed yesterday in a single vehicle auto accident.

====================
Lusk man dies in crash

A Lusk man was killed early Monday morning about 2 miles west of Lusk in Niobrara County when his vehicle went off the road and crashed into an embankment, according to a release from the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Richard A. Woodington, 41, was driving a 1991 Lincoln 4-door eastbound on U.S. Highway 18/20 when he crossed the center line and drove off the north side of the road and into an embankment. When the vehicle hit the embankment it vaulted onto its roof and slid to a stop.

Air bags did deploy, but Woodington was not wearing a seat belt, according to the patrol. The road was clear and dry at the time of the crash.

This is fatality 154 this year. Last year at this time there were 142 highway fatalities.
======================
/emphasis mine

I can not count the number of times I and others would tell Richard to wear his frelling seat belt when we were teens/young adults.  Nope, he had to be a stubborn sot.   He leaves behind a small child and two teens from a prior marriage, whom he'd just gotten custody of.

[K Frame]

My safety harness is on before I start the car.

[Declaration Day]

My father is stubborn like that.  He refuses to wear his seatbelt because "It's none of the government's business."  I guess he thinks he's making a political statement.

I agree with him on that point but I wear mine because it is smart, not because it's the law.

I am sorry about your friend.

[Werewolf]

Wearing a seatbelt just makes good sense...

Just because the government thinks so too doesn't make it any less important to wear one.

[onions!]

Is it known what caused him to go off road?Could he have had a heart attack or something similar?

My condolences for your loss.41 is pretty young.

[Guest]

Sigh.

Yeah, the accident I saw, the car had clearly rolled AND taken a moderate bash on the front, probably while spinning around.  (That's why I didn't know the make, it was screwed up to that degree.)  So with all that bouncing and spinning, the airbag alone would NOT have held her in her seat.

There's a good chance the seatbelt saved her life.  At a minimum it saved her from serious injury.  Near as I can tell she probably walked out of the hospital after a checkup and some bandages that night.

[280plus]

It's especially important to put the lap belt on in those cars that automatically put you in the shoulder harness. In a frontal crash without the lap belt people have "submarined" under the shoulder belt and have had their heads ripped off by it.

I personally have a permanent upper back injury due to pretty much "folding" around the shoulder harness in a head on I had in 1989. My guess is some tissue separated between my shoulder blades and it causes spasms occasionally to this day. Hasn't stopped me from wearing my belt though. I feel naked without it.

Sorry for your loss...

[Phyphor]

My safety harness is on before I start the car.

*expletive deleted*in' A.  I won't even put the keys in the ignition until EVERYONE in my car buckles up.

[Standing Wolf]

Well, yeah, but it takes so long to put on a seat belt!

[El Tejon]

Wear your rubbers, safety belt and pistol!

[...has left the building.]

May your friend rest in peace. I don't hit the gas pedal if someone in my car isn't buckled up.

Wear your rubbers, safety belt and pistol!

Now if you've worn all three at the same time, then you'd be on my level

[Ex-MA Hole]

Buried my 54 year old Uncle (my mentor and my role model) last summer.

No belt.  Rolled his SUV 4-5 times.  Went out the front window, and rolled over himself.

4 kids, twins are 10 now.  Police said the belt would have DEFINATELY saved his life.  Those kids would have still had a Dad.



Oh yeah, then there was my 30 something cousin back on my birthday in 1980, cop in a high speed chase.  Guy he was chasing slammed on the brakes.  Cousin didn't.  Cousin ended up in the BG's back seat.  End of cousin.  He'd still be alive, too, one can assume...



I ALWAYS wear them.  However, last time I checked, this was SUPPOSED to be a free country.  While I think it should be common sense, I DO NOT think it should be the law.

[Bob F.]

I'm an ER nurse. Couple months ago girl came out of tunnel into rainstorm on interstate (70mph?) Hydroplaned, spun, rolled, slammed guardrail. Seat belt on, minor bruises and a few scratches. We thought she had a broken finger until an x-ray said no. 16 yr old brother was passenger, no seat belt. Multiple pelvic fracture, basal skull fracture, ruptured spleen, pulmonary contusions, liver laceration. Transferred to Trauma Center. I figured he had less than 5% chance of survival (1.5hr transfer by ground, weather had the medivacs grounded). He beat the odds and is gonna pretty much recover, pretty much.

Read the paper, watch the news: a very high percentage of motor vehicle crash fatalities are ejections! Screw political statements, wear your seatbelts!

Bob

[grampster]

I've been wearing a seatbelt since 1974.  Coming home from a Piston's game, we got smeared in the middle of a chain accident on the freeway.  I had a really spooky feeling as the freeway was nuts with cars.  I put on my belt and told my neighbor to do the same.  Within a few seconds after that came the collision.  We got hit in the rear and driven into the vehicle in front of us.  I remember the belt restraining me as I headed for the dash and windshield.  The car was crumpled like an aluminum beer can.  The belts saved both of us.

[Guest]

There's only one time I'll delay belting: if I'm driving my 36ft long house (motorhome) at 5mph or so in tight conditions.  I have to be able to lean all kinds of directions to see properly under those conditions.  But the moment I'm clear, belt goes on.

That's the ONLY time I can see doing without a belt - for the safety of others so I can see better out of this 16,000lb critter.

[Justin]

Now if you've worn all three at the same time, then you'd be on my level wink

The missus likes things a little kinky, eh?  



As to seat belts, I once rolled a car, landed it back on the wheels, and walked away from the accident with nary a scratch.

[Waitone]

Many decades ago before seatbelts because fashionable I was an early teen on vacation with my family down in the Florida Keys.  Bottom line the station wagon in front of us initiated a head on at 60 mphs with another station wagon.  13 people involved and 5 were killed outright.  Dad and I got the privilege of tending to the injured until help arrived.  No one in either car was wearing a seatbelt.  

Guess I was luck to learn such a lesson.

[Sindawe]

I appreciate the condolences from all you fine folks, the past couple of days have been rough.  Went to the funeral yesterday after riding up to Lusk with some friends, then back this morning.  About 6 hours of sleep over the past 48 hours.  Though I will say it was 'prolly the ONLY funeral I've been to where Judas Priest is played. Sadly the infighting has already started there, and Rich has'nt even been cremated yet...*SIGH*  Now we have to decide on what to place on his memorial plaque up in the hills.  His trademark phrase, "Hey you hoser, die" as he passed one of us another of his EtOH concoctions is too easy to misinterpret.

From the description his sister gave of the injuries and damage to the vehicle, even belts would not have kept him alive.  That does not diminish their importance though.

[Art Eatman]

I did a lot of "you pull it" parts acquisition at junkyards, back in my hot-rodding days.  I've looked at thousands of wrecked cars and trucks, just walking through the yards.  

Rollover protection is--for all practical purposes--nil.  Nada. Zip.  Zilch.  Pickups are horrible.  About the only cars that aren't pancakes are four-door sedans.

Today's wind-tunnel-driven designs for the CAFE, with their flat-angled windshields, just really suck.

Belts/harness/airbags are all well and wonderful and they do indeed help, but when your spine gets shortened about a foot or so, they don't do you a lot of good.

Art

[Guest]

Quoting Art:

>> Today's wind-tunnel-driven designs for the CAFE, with their flat-angled windshields, just really suck. <<

In the crash I saw, involving a low-end Japanese ride built along those exact lines, it did GREAT.  This was a rollover plus moderate front end ding - the front end was bashed up enough to shift the motor a bit and would have meant the car was a total loss *without* the rollover.

Yes, the upper windshield area was squished some, and the side doors wouldn't open at all.  BUT the airbag shoved her head/upper body backwards enough not to get the "spine shortened treatment" you describe.  I am 98% certain she walked away from the hospital that night; they would have board-strapped her for safety of course but she came out of it in very good shape, minor cuts and bruises but nothing that will scar her good looks (which were quite good esp. under the circumstances.

It appears to me that airbags can compensate for that "wind tunnel derived nose", at least when it's all done right.  I wish I knew exactly what she was driving because I was *very* impressed given the small size and lower-end price point.

[roo_ster]

Sorry for your loss.  Losing a buddy, especially one wiht kids, is rough.

I have rolled a car and for a few years there it semed as if I was a magnet, as so many folks ran into my rear bumper.

Lesson learned: wear the seatbelt