Good Posting Dean. I wish driver education courses would teach like this.
Common sense has gone by the way side.
Hugh
From: "Dean T. Lake" <dtlake@erols.com>
> I am very big on both vehicle safety and child safety to the point of
> annoying folks. However, IMHO, there are several risk factors that come
> well before the crash worthiness of the car itself. These are more or
less
> in the order in which I view their importance - but could be persuaded to
> reconsider!
>
> 1. Proper Use of Restraints
> 2. Sobriety
> 3. Alertness
> 4. Driving attitude (Judgement, Defensiveness, Aggression,
Territoriality)
> 5. Driving Skill (Experience, Coordination, Reaction Time, etc.)
> 6. Vehicle Maintenance (note that this is the first factor not directly
> related to the driver)
> 7. Road Conditions (as relate to Capabilities of the Driver AND Vehicle)
> 8. Traffic Conditions
> 9. Speed (relative to the above three)
>
> I have no data to back this up, but I feel my child is safe in the family
B
> in a booster, with an individual at the wheel who is: sober, wide awake
and
> paying attention, declining to engage in road rage or take risks,
> benefitting from good skills and experience, sure that the car's systems
are
> all working, choosing to drive in manageable conditions, choosing to drive
> in manageable traffic, and avoiding excessive speeds for given conditions
> and abilities. Of course, none of this guarantees anything (my personal
> greatest remaining fear is the anavoidable deer). The key to the decision
> is to visualize how you would feel if something did go wrong. Are you
> prepared to take the responsibility for the outcome? If so, I personally
> think a good driver with good judgement in a good car is not particularly
> putting children at great risk. It would be interesting to view child
> injury/fatality data for the crash worthiness of the vehicle versus other
> factors. That is, "How do kids usually get hurt in cars?" Not just
"Which
> cars offer the greatest protection in the event of a crash?" I hope it
> would back up my gut feeling on this issue. If not, I would perhaps have
to
> re-check my gut. One thing I am sure of, my child is safer in my B
properly
> restrained than in a Ford Excessive flopping around in the back few rows
of
> seats. I see that scenario all too often and can only imagine the soccer
> Mom's shock and dismay at the extent of her child's injuries upon having a
> minor fender bender in the mall parking lot. In many regards, SUV owners
> seem to think their special vehicles have special powers over physics -
but
> don't get me started.
>
> Dean
> Safety Fastened
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|