"Kurt Ullman" wrote in message
m...
In article ,
"Pete C." wrote:

Robert Green wrote:

Oh, how I remember
the kicking and screaming over seat belts and airbags. However, the
data is
in and the bottom line is well-established: those improvements save
not
only the lives of reckless drivers, but also the lives of the innocent
people they run into.

Actually, you are quite incorrect on that last part. The data on airbags
has clearly shown that they have taken the lives of a great many
innocent people, not just "small stature" people, but also average
people killed in accidents directly caused by airbags deploying
improperly such as when the car hits a pothole. The data also shows that
many of the people "saved" by airbags would have been better off dead
since the airbag did not protect most of their wrecked bodies (this I've
heard directly from ER doctors).

Especially since the early legislative history of the airbag clearly
shows it was originally the intention of Congress to use them as passive
restraint systems, to save those who would not buckle up. Ooops.

I'm not sure what you're agreeing to, Kurt, but even the most rudimentary
search:

http://www.google.com/search?q=lives...ts+and+airbags

will demonstrate that air bags and seat belts have saved far more lives than
some would have us believe. Once the issue of small children was discovered
it was easily resolved (disable switches). Those few early deaths were
certainly not enough to abandon a life-saving technology.

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/811206.pdf

explains in excruciating detail how they calculate the benefits of seat
belts and air bags and even factor in the unfortunate and rare occurrences
when belts or laps do more harm than good. As our resident medical
statistician, Kurt, you can't possibly agree that all but a small subclass
of passengers would be better off without airbags. Air bags and seat belts
have been studied from here to Andromeda and back.

When I was a reporter and air bags were unheard of there was a name for the
wounds unrestrained people got when propelled through even a safety glass
windshield. They called it "the glass necklace." Most who got it didn't
survive. If the vehicle rolled just right, some would end up headless.

I'd be interested in seeing the legitimate study that says seat belts and
air bags do more harm than good.

--
Bobby G.