These early air bags were designed to be used with lap belts only and they apparently open faster than newer ones. (I have to admit I haven't tested them yet to see how effective they are!) The owner manual still recommends wearing a lap belt but in case of a frontal impact, it wouldn't probably change anything...
Perhaps the manual was written before they realized the need for a shoulder belt. o No: Many of today's airbags are two-stage bags, meaning they deploy slower in a slower-speed impact primarily to avoid injury by the bag itself.
Belt use Phil, Are you saying that all possible accidents you may have will be direct frontal impacts? As this is the only situation that those bags "MAY" save you. You are giving up a lot of safety, in my opinion, under the false assumption that air bags will save you, without using seat belts. They were designed from the beginning as a system. I wear my belts because there are too many unknowns out there to consider in my daily commute. The use of a simple item such as a seat belt may increase my odds of making it home in one piece each day. As far as the racers that wear belts on the track, and not on the road, the logic seems to be that it is more dangerous to go fast at the track. I disagree. The track has safety issues yes, but, I feel that the unknown on the road with drunks (any time of the day!?!), distracted cell phone users, just plain idiots is what will ultimately get me. I use the best safety gear I can any time I can, so I can enjoy another day of doing dangerous things, with out the fear of it being my last.
Never leave home without it!!! I never go anywhere without my seatbelt on and will not ever!! If you don't believe the effectiveness of a seat belt, learn the way I did. Took a '77 VW Scirocco at 65 mph and rear ended an '82 Olds 98 sitting at a stop sign. That convinced me that they are there for a reason!! Try this little stunt once and you will see what I mean.
The lap belt prevents "submarining" or sliding up under the dash. Without the lap belt the air bag is defeated to a great extent.
I always try to wear a seatbelt, not matter what the circumstances. If you don't wear a seat belt in my car, you'll fly out the window or crack your head open on the dash on an impact, if you don't wear a seatbelt in one of the newer cars with airbags, your head will be taken off, and if you don't wear a seatbelt in a late eighties or early nineties car with airbags, you'll end up in the back of the car, or your head will:Smarty: -Cody
Man - there is too much here to read it all. That being said, hopefully I don't repeat something. In California the law says wear the belt. My town of 93,000 only last week issued 174 tickets during an enforcement campaign. The law also requires crotch-rocket drivers to wear a brain bucket. And youths must wear helmets to ride bikes, scooters, skates and boards. I got my first traffic "ticket" when I was twelve for riding my bike against a red light. Yep - its tough in Cali. John (IMO, and with all respect due to a fellow member of our Buick community) is wrong about the insurance deal in his very first paragraph. Each and every insurance claim raises the price of insurance for everyone. We are ALL in the same insurance pool regardless of location, health, race, creed, sexual orientation, age, etc. Thanks all of you who've suffered from hurricanes and tornadoes for raising my car insurance rate in the non-shaky part of California. State Farm insures cars AND homes. Allstate insures cars AND homes. Farmers, Allied, yada, yada, yada. And they have to make a buck or they go out of business. In California, where so much of these "really tough to comply with" laws originated, we've been informed that the reason for the laws is to save lives, minimize injury, AND to lower the average cost of accidents that will always happen. I believe in that reasoning. Please now, go about your business, and buckle up so we can hear from you another day. :Comp:
Bad Brad, A debate is good from time to time. I have enjoyed this thread. Opinions are opinions and none of this crap on here will affect any of our buckling habits. I think insurance companies are having no problem making their buck, though. Roll Poll Roll.
I don't feel comfortable sitting in a car without a seatbelt on. I feel like I'm going to fall out the window.
You would have loved the CJ 5 that my friend had in school! Hang on for dear life.:3gears: Seat belts were taken out of it like most people did in trucks locally because they poked them in the rear when they sat down on them. Things sure have changed. :bglasses:
It should be optional. I got two tickets for not wearing a seatbelt. The first time was when I wasn't even driving. The cops on the bike got me. I didn't even have a license at the time just a permit. So I didn't pay it, I thought it wouldn't affect me but it did. When I got my licesne they put a hold on it. I have to pay $200 as bond but they did give me a 100 check after the bond. I say car insurance should be optional also.
Seat Belt Law I think its all about money!!! :af: So I do wear mine because I'm not giving any more money to Maryland :af: Hell, they just doubled the registrations and many other fees :af: . I offten herd cops seeing who can (never mind I'm going to get in trouble here) So if you see me with my belt on, Its about money and don't let anyone tell you otherwise :af: , AL :rant:
Adults should have the right to make decisions on how they live life as long as it does not impact fellow citizens in a negative manner. I for one have always worn a seatbelt and make it a requirement for those in my vehicles. been wearing seatbelts before it became mandatory by state legislation. That was my choice, not some regulatory body deciding that. Nanny state legislation is too prevelant in the USA nowadays and it is getting worse as the years move on. There are many in our society who are quite acceptable to have someone tell them what to wear, what color they can paint the house and many other issues that should be a matter of choice. That is not a position that I care for personnaly. Over the years I have many discussions on the merits of Big Brother legislation being needed to control costs, force folks to do "the right thing" and what not. At the end of the day I have yet to see taxes, insurance fees or goverment personnel reduced after "life saving" legislation is passed. Hmmm, no monetary savings then what is the real underlying rational behind passage of said laws? Helmets, seatbelts, fireworks and a slew of other matters should be a decision left to the individual "adult". Note I say adult and not children. There are way too many adults that do not exhibit enough sense to own a dog much less raise children. If the world would cut back on the quantity of lawyers graduating every year (who turn into judges and legislators) perhaps some of the warning labels and nanny nonsense would go away. Just my personal somewhat Libertarian view of life. Buicks Rule! George
There are as many opinions out there as there are people(duh). I do not feel that we should be relieved of our responsibility for ourselves and our family. I CHOOSE to wear my seatbelt because of an accident I had early on, witnessing the effect of momementum. How the human body continues it's motion althought the car has come to a sudden stop. I did not have my seatbelt on and luckily I was a passenger and kind of tucked up and wound up caving in the dash and smashing my head on the windshield. I was lucky, my wife (girlfriend at the time) was driving and decided to wear her seatbelt because her back hurt (?). She ended up in the hospital and not me because the seatbelt and the ensuing quick stop bruised her heart and caused irregular beats. I had a couple of scalp cuts. I tell you this because I am a believer in wearing seatbelts, BUT, I feel it is a matter of personal choice. If you use the logic that we need to legislate for the "for their own good" you discount the freedoms that this country was based on. We now have legislation about not being able to smoke in bars because of second hand smoke, what about the loud music in bars, what about the loss of hearing? Where does it all stop? I am concerned that because of the lawsuits going around that we are beginning to create laws to protect the majority because of some terrible but exceptional things that have happened. I don't want BIG BROTHER to make my choices for me. People used to have accidents(whatever they might have been) took personal responsibility for themselves, learned from them and went on with life. The less government interference the better.
I have to agree about it being a choice - not mandated. This thread reminded me of 2 accidents. I'm not using them to say belts are bad or good - just that the issue can be clouded. One was my friend's father was broad-sided and wasn't wearing a seat. He was pushed to the other side of the car, and the police and doctors said if he had his belt on he'd have been killed. The other one was a head-on accident I saw. When the police came I commented that the woman in the car hit her head on the windshield. He said it was impossible b/c she was wearing her lapbelt/shoulder harness. I said look at the windshield, then look at her head. Yes, she'd have been in much worse shape without it. However, it is an example of people's beliefs versus what can actually happen. Like a previous post of the woman who wasn't wearing a belt injuring her hand on the airbag. The belt doesn't keep you from trying to put out your hands. Its great they are now using the side bags. Strange, though, since fewer accidents are head-on, and the ones that are often involve a side impact as well. You'd think the side bags would have come out first.
