Tim99GT

Working my *** off. I've been busy as hell here lately. I still get on here, just havnt posted in awhile. just surfing lol

cliffyk

This curious belief in the inevitability of crashing that permeates our modern society is a bemusement to me.

Not crashing, and better yet not letting yourself get into situations where the odds of doing so go up, solves a whole bunch of the problem.

I have been known to drive is a very spirited manner (ask the Florida Highway Patrol), however I also make sure I do it when conditions allow it to be done safely. In heavy traffic I am that "old man with a hat" that keeps slowing down and leaving space between me and the clump of ******** tailgating at 85mph.

As to the airbag, I have a waiver from DOT because of bypass surgery--but also, consider this:

The US Postal Service will not let you ship an airbag, disconnected from any power source and literally as close to impossible to detonate as is possible--because it's classified as an "explosive device" (try to get one on an airplane).

Yet that same government says it's mandatory that you drive down the road with one 18" from your face, armed and ready to go...

H0SS302

Consider this, Your hauling *** or better yet... just driving down the road and someone pulls out in front of you. Nothing you can do about that. No safety net exists for OTHER PEOPLES ACTIONS.

You know what happens next? If you dont even see them, and you hit them full force, you die from smashing your skull on the pretty new steering wheel you had to have... If you were lucky enough to see them, perceive the threat, then react(which takes at LEAST 1.5 seconds for the quickest most alert person), ull be lucky to slow down enough that when you hit them, then fly forward and put a carbon copy of your face into it.

In my line of work, i see car crashed and vehicular malfunctions that dont have me questioning the reliability or functionality of such an "explosive" device. I just did a head on collision with a focus and a taurus, both walked away from a 50+ MPH wreck, both have the airbag to thank.

On the other hand, my firm did a reconstruction of an accident involving... you guessed it, johnny riceburner and a pole. He had his awesome looking aftermarket wheel and removed the airbag... then ended up smashing his chin so hard he bend the wheel back before he was ejected out of the car..

Moral of the story: Dont take out your airbag without at least an aftermarket seat and a 5pt harness.

cliffyk

I have been driving longer than your have been picking up the pieces, and likely longer than you have been alive--if you drive defensively, and not like "johnny riceburner", the chances of crashing diminish close to the vanishing point--I haven't "crashed" in over 40 years despite averaging 35k to 45k miles a year.

No one can "pull out in front of you" unexpectedly if you approach blind intersections expecting just that. Similarly you can't get t-boned at a light if you make sure traffic has stopped before you proceed.

As to that "johnny riceburner" wrapped himself around a pole I consider that cause for celebration--the quality of the gene pool just went up several notches...

Hangwire

HIGH FIVE on that. I drive on a major highway in rush hour traffic during the week and this gets on my nerves the worst. I also dont get why people dont let off the ****ing gas in this situation when the highway starts going downhill. They just stay on the gas accelerating like idiots when coming up on exits that they KNOW will cause slowage and this is exactly what creates the problem. To a degree you're right, I was arguing something similar the other night about how id much rather drive and fly a plane. I HAVE CONTROL over my vehicle. I dont care one bit about "statistics" oh man look at the "statistics" well guess what I doubt as many people fly annually compared to the number driving a vehicle every day. Again i'll take CONTROL over my own fate.

However...........there ARE situations where your life can and will be taken without you contributing one tiny bit. Rear end collisions. I really dont think I could have done anything to prevent the dumbass lawyer ***** in her eclipse from ramming me in my bumper on the highway in one of those high speed quick stops. I did my job to prevent an accident, I was paying attention and slowed the F down quick enough. Also theres a circumstance that immediately comes to mind involving this. Recently a surgeon whom my mother knows through working at the local hospital was LOADED after a sunday afternoon of golfing/drinking. He was drunk at the expensive country club before he even left. He then went to a bar thats 50% owned by a very close family friend(weird coincidences) and he and this lady he was with were both very drunk and got cut off. Well he got pissed, sped off and eventually ran into the back of a little sedan stopped at a stoplight doing 90+ MPH she was instantly killed her car was reduced to half its length, you can imagine why. Hes now in prison for a very very long time. Pretty sure this poor young lady had absolutely 0.00% to do with this.

Hangwire

OMG Timaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy. I took a little break myself and am just now getting back into things. Talking with the shop right now getting an estimate and dyno tune date set up, i'm finally ready to actually get this thing on...its got dust on it now. This things probly been sitting for around 2 years now, I hope seals didnt go bad lol. Wait that wouldnt be lol.

cliffyk

I always watch the rear-view mirror and have an "escape route" planned out ahead of time--a couple months ago I shot into the median on I-95 South of Jacksonville when it became obvious that the "Armada" behind me could not possibly stop in time--they tapped the bumper of the car in front of me, which meant the 15 to 16 feet of "me" would have been hit pretty hard.

In concert with this, there are two places in the world I do not use the cell phone--one is in the John (I think that's gross beyond description, I won't even take it with me), the other is while I am driving a car--it can ring it's brains out for all I care.

There is NOTHING that damned important. They can leave a message, if they don't then it must not have been that important...

BraMas

Cliff you have to understand that You and I both started driving before air bags so we are OK without having them in our cars. Most of these guys on here are younger and have been brain washed into believing you will only survive a crash if you have a airbag in your car. So they have there belief and we have ours we can't change there opinion and they cant change ours.

H0SS302

Im just saying.. I deal with situations every day that ppl didnt expect to get in a wreck or have a drunk driver come out of nowhere and hit them. I wouldnt consider yourself invincible behind the wheel.. I can show you tons of situations that your not lol.

And to this whole "brainwashed" concept.. that is retarded. Airbags were invented to save lives, which they do. Compare crash tests from 40 yrs ago till now. A 40mph wreck wont kill you like it did years back. That is ignorant thinking...I guess you think seatbelts are unnecessary to then?

cliffyk

I understand that fully, when I started there were no seat belts, head rests, air bags, or even mandatory turn signals--ABS was the pedal in the middle, and traction control was a combination of that one and the skinny one to the right.

The intelligent/cautious/lucky survived, the others passed by the wayside.

"Brain washed" is exactly what it is, "Government knows best"--God help us if we ever get into a real war, no one has the belly for it any more.

Which makes the courage of the members of our voluntary armed forces that much more something to be honored--they are, of their own volition, putting their lives on the line for our right to "bitch and moan"!!!


I must admit to getting misty thinking about what those women and men are doing for us...