Dan writes:
>Is this airbag thing strictly a U.S. phenomenon?
No, they're offered on up-market vehicles as a cost-extra option (although
one or two makers are beginning to offer them as standard fitting)
>One thing I was delighted to notice last fall when I visited the
>U.K. was that the L-reg (i.e. brand new) Escort I rented--I mean
>hired-- had no automatic belts or airbag, no "fasten belts"
>indicator and/or screaming buzzer. This made me absurdly happy.
>
>Is this lack of compulsory safety stuff the norm for the UK?
>And does it reflect a lower accident rate? Does anyone know the
>figures?
British drivers don't like to be *told* to do anything - I rarely remember
my seat belt unless my wife reminds me or I see a police car, and we
*still* haven't quite got used to the 70MPH speed limit, it's only been in
force for about 30 years. I don't know what our accident rate is like, but
I did see a report that suggested that the 55MPH limit in the USA had
increased the number of accidents, mainly because drivers were allowing
their brains to slow down to the lower speed.
>Is it possible that they've managed to keep their fatality
>rate down by requiring drivers to be _competent_ before issuing
>them licences? That would certainly be cheaper, let alone
>safer...
I personally think it's ridiculously easy to get a license in the UK, and
judging by the driving I see regularly I'd say that competence was not a
pre-requisite! I'd like to see a scheme to re-test every five years or so -
that would save a lot of lives. As you say 'the most important safety
component is the driver'.
Richard Smith
R.G. Smith Automobile Engineering - Triumph & Alvis specialist
- British Parts for British cars
Tel: 0729 823051; Fax: 0729 824092
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