"electricked" no_emails_please wrote in message
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"Ken Taylor" wrote in message
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"Lewin A.R.W. Edwards" wrote in message
om...
"James Sweet" wrote:

I'll get flamed for saying that but the airbags in north america are
excessively powerful and IMO not nessesary in a well designed car
with
properly buckled occupants.

There have been "more than several" models of vehicle that have been
recalled because of airbags detonating randomly... (including the
previous-year-model of the car I drive :/) Having fired an airbag in
an open space just to see what it's like, I'm sure I NEVER want to see
it happen two feet in front of my face. I was raised in a country
where it is normal practice to get in the car and put on the seatbelt
as an atomic operation. I frankly don't believe the slight additional
protection of an airbag (assuming a correctly seated and belted
driver/passenger), is worth the risk.

As of 1997(?) North American-market cars are factory-fitted with
"second-generation" airbags that have approximately 1/2 the inflation
force of older first-generation airbags. I think it's likely you'll
find the inflation pressure of airbags in current-year vehicles is
pretty much the same worldwide.

One real problem, as it's been explained to me by people who work on
these things, is that the collision sensors in the North American
market are set to excessive sensitivity, because of laxly enforced
and/or nonexistent seatbelt laws. (Worse still, this problem often
propagates to other markets). As usual, an attempt to save people from
their own suicidal stupidity results in injury to others.

I saw a documentary once where the psychologist being interviewed opined
that the only way to reduce the road toll dramatically was to remove all
safety features and put a metal spike in the middle of the steering
wheel,
pointed at the driver.

Ken

And how will that work? Are they going to include a supplementary button
which reads "I did something stupid. Slap me please!" BANG!

--Viktor

No, remember, it's a psychologist's thinking - he is after behavior
modification. If everyone had a spike in the steering wheel like that,
they'd drive a damn sight more carefully!

Ken