Glenn:
I agree with you re: ABS. Can't stand them ... and I've never had to steer
and fully brake at the same time, either. I have seen what happens when an
airbag deploys; my other half got run over by a dumptruck three years ago.
It started as a front end collision, but the ride height and wheel height of
the truck were such in comparison to the Dodge she was driving that it
literally rolled up and over the driver's side of the car. Airbag deployed,
and she's probably alive now because of it. The collision was at about 50 mph
on both sides.
I agree that if they're going to impose ride height and common bumper height
standards, then they should impose them universally. I live in Virginia;
between the cheesy lowered vehicles and the Monster Trucks, I doubt one car
in three has the correct ride height. ::shrug:: It was another little bit of
legislation put forward by our friends in the insurance industry, and I'd
just as soon we did away with the fiction of it - and it's associated costs.
I've had a little seat-of-the-pants theory for a while now, which was
recently proven out by some research studies: Fancy safety gadgets make
people worse drivers. My observation has been that, in the last 12-15 years
or so, I've seen a marked decline in what I'd call 'defensive driving', road
politeness, and just overall good judgement on the part of many of my fellow
road warriors. I've seen a concomitant rise in advertised 'safety devices'
on autos - air bags, crumple zones, ABS, side-impact guards, etc., etc. I
don't think it's a conscious decision on the part of drivers, but I think the
psychological edge given by these devices is, 'I can have an accident and
walk away from it'. The question of what happens to the other driver,
perhaps in a pre-1980 British convertible, is never addressed. Consequently,
I think I've seen people (particularly in minivans, but I won't go into my
contempt for those private busses just now) take more chances, cut people off
a bit more often, and in general use worse driving judgement more often. A
recent study bore this out: Number of fatal accidents is down, but the number
of accidents is up, and the correlation with the introduction of more and
better vehicle safety devices is somewhat alarming. More and more, I feel
just a bit hunted - and I don't want to be in a driving environment with
someone who feels, probably correctly, that he can survive fairly unharmed
any collision with me.
Just my rambling tuppence worth. Please forgive the long post.
Corey
75 MGB 'Rags'
|