[Spridgets] seatbelts, rollbars and general safety

Andrew Payne andrewpayne at intrex.net
Sun Nov 16 18:47:35 MST 2008


This is a subject that I am very passionate about.  I am only now joining
the discussion because yesterday I was stick building a large shed with a
friend.  I mention this because this list is one of the reasons I insisted
on using only a high quality framing nailer - of the 28 oz Estwing, bicep
powered variety.  I love having good stories, but I don't need a, "did I
ever tell you about the time I shot a nail through my (insert body part)?"
story.

 

First, anyone got a place where I can order padding?

 

Second, roll bars are good!  I've used mine, and I am alive because of it
and my seat belt. Single car, low speed freak accident, I was driving
carefully at about 25 mph.  At any moment a car can flip onto its roof, it
is one of the obscure laws of physics.  As a plus, both my MG and Miata
handled better after installing the bars, because of the added rigidity.  

 

Third, safety is a matter of legislation and compromise.  Many people have
to be told to wear a seatbelt.  For practical purposes seatbelts need to
allow mobility during normal driving, hence the inertial reel.  The two
reasons that they are not to replaced, I believe are as follows:  you are
not to remove mandated safety devices because you may one day sell the car,
and the protection must be in place for the fool who buys it; also inertial
reel belts have a break away feature that under extreme g forces break
stitching, allowing an extra 3 inches or so of travel which changes 60-0 in
10 inches (of crumple zone) to 60-0 in 13 inches.  As a side note, a used
car with an exposed white tag at the bottom of the belt generally indicates
that the car has been in a collision, and these should be replaced if
exposed.  This does not sound like a lot, but loads increase exponentially
as distance decreases.  

 

Many of us have stories of the tumor that would not have been discovered if
not for the heart attack, the marriage that was saved by an affair, and the
lives saved by not using safety equipment.  For every person who was saved
by being thrown from a car, there are dozens of stories where the driver
lands on their head, or is rolled over by the car.   Statistically, I
believe that we are better off with an extra 16 inches of headroom and a
seatbelt.  But then, I think Midgets are probably not as safe as any modern
car, and that SUVs are inherently dangerous to both the occupants and the
others on the road (particularly in LBC), so what do I know?

 

Drew


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