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  • Ford Aurora I station wagon

    From JAB@21:1/5 to All on Fri Sep 22 21:52:20 2023
    The Ford Aurora I station wagon from 1969 has a unique design. From
    the outside, it appears to be a typical station wagon with wood
    paneling. However, upon closer inspection, you'll find that the
    interior boasts a wrap-around couch and a passenger seat that can
    rotate 180 degrees, allowing for face-to-face socializing with
    passengers in the rear. The rear of the car is also fully padded,
    providing additional seating.

    The Ford Aurora II, although designed, never made it to the market,
    likely due to safety regulations. Notably, this car lacked seatbelts, reflecting the controversy surrounding seatbelt use in the 40s and
    50s. Despite overwhelming evidence of their life-saving benefits, many
    people believed seatbelts were dangerous and even removed them from
    their cars.

    Interestingly, there are still advocates against seatbelt use today.
    In the early 2000s, one such advocate argued, "Uncle Sam is not here
    to regulate every facet of life regardless of the consequences."
    Tragically, he later died in a car crash after being ejected from his
    vehicle because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

    PIC
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F6qsAP5WIAUsvnB.jpg


    https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1705364534016311343

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mike Spencer@21:1/5 to JAB on Sat Sep 23 04:19:34 2023
    JAB <[email protected]d> writes:

    Interestingly, there are still advocates against seatbelt use today.
    In the early 2000s, one such advocate argued, "Uncle Sam is not here
    to regulate every facet of life regardless of the consequences."
    Tragically, he later died in a car crash after being ejected from his
    vehicle because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

    A car came into the shop where I worked in 1966 thqt had hit a power
    pole sideways at high speed. There was a vertical cylindrical space
    the shape of the pole right through the driver's seat -- a slender
    person could stand in the ground in the driver's position with head
    above the roof. If the driver had been belted in, he would have been
    crushed to a pulp. In fact, he was thrown into thwe passenger seat
    with a broken arm and some bruises. So YMMV.


    PIC
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F6qsAP5WIAUsvnB.jpg

    Cool. Cira 1960, Greyhound proposed to make busses kinda like that --
    groups of 4 comfy recliner chairs around coffee tables. I don't know
    if they were ever made but in '59 they were making promises.

    https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1705364534016311343

    --
    Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Sep 23 06:07:57 2023
    On 23 Sep 2023 04:19:34 -0300, Mike Spencer
    <[email protected]e> wrote:

    seatbelt....YMMV.

    Statistically, I suspect a different story.

    On another note, those yellow school buses can be equiped with lap
    belts. In one accident:

    Event Date 12/17/2021
    Location Monaville, TX

    What We Found

    We determined that the probable cause of the Monaville, Texas, crash
    was the bus driver's failure to keep the vehicle in its travel lane
    due to being distracted by the vehicle's vent window. Contributing to
    the severity of the injuries was the lack of seat belt use by several
    school bus passengers.

    Lessons Learned

    Seat Belt Use and Driver Assistance Systems on School Buses

    School buses are among the safest ways to travel, and school bus
    safety remains among the NTSB's special topics of advocacy. Ensuring
    that all passengers are properly wearing available seat belts further
    improves the safety of school buses. At the time of the crash, the
    Hempstead ISD had not implemented a mandatory seat belt policy as
    required by the state of Texas. Hempstead ISD has now updated its
    policy to require seat belt use for students and staff. Hempstead ISD
    has also hired additional staff to oversee necessary maintenance and
    driver qualification records. The NTSB has previously recommended that associations involved in student transport inform their members that
    onboard video systems should be used to help ensure that safe
    transportation behaviors--including sitting properly and wearing seat belts--are followed on school buses. Had the school district
    implemented a required seat belt policy and conducted periodic reviews
    of the onboard video, riders would have been more likely to be seated
    in position and wearing seat belts. Had the available lap belts been
    worn by all passengers, injuries would have been reduced and the
    ejection prevented in this crash.

    https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/HWY22FH002.aspx

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Michael Trew@21:1/5 to JAB on Sun Sep 24 19:11:49 2023
    On 9/23/2023 7:07 AM, JAB wrote:
    School buses are among the safest ways to travel, and school bus
    safety remains among the NTSB's special topics of advocacy. Ensuring
    that all passengers are properly wearing available seat belts further improves the safety of school buses. At the time of the crash, the
    Hempstead ISD had not implemented a mandatory seat belt policy as
    required by the state of Texas. Hempstead ISD has now updated its
    policy to require seat belt use for students and staff.

    I guess this is a state-by-state issue. In both Ohio and PA states,
    when I grew up (graduated 2013), no school bus had any seat belts. None
    of us were ever injured. Even in a crash, I think we would have been
    just fine with the sheer size and weight of the bus, plus padded seats
    front and back. Years from now, people will freak out as to how the
    kids went all of that time with no seat belts to and from school!

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Michael Trew@21:1/5 to Mike Spencer on Sun Sep 24 19:09:33 2023
    On 9/23/2023 3:19 AM, Mike Spencer wrote:
    JAB<[email protected]d> writes:

    Tragically, he later died in a car crash after being ejected from his
    vehicle because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

    A car came into the shop where I worked in 1966 thqt had hit a power
    pole sideways at high speed. There was a vertical cylindrical space
    the shape of the pole right through the driver's seat -- a slender
    person could stand in the ground in the driver's position with head
    above the roof. If the driver had been belted in, he would have been
    crushed to a pulp. In fact, he was thrown into thwe passenger seat
    with a broken arm and some bruises. So YMMV.

    There are some cases where a driver was saved by not wearing a seat
    belt, but in most cases, it's proven that a seat belt saves lives. I
    assume this 60's vehicle you've mentioned must not have been a full
    frame vehicle, for the pole to have gone into the driver seat. Either
    way, cars now have crumple zones, so it might be a moot point on modern vehicles.

    About 6 years ago, the steering column locked up on my mid-90's Chevy
    S10 pickup truck, going down the interstate and around a bend. It went
    into the embankment and rolled over, then rolled back onto 4 wheels.
    The heavy old school ladder rack kept my head and neck from being
    crushed in. I still mount a steel pipe rack on every truck I own. I
    would have likely been ejected and died without a seat belt, but I
    walked away sore with only a few bruises and scratches.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From JAB@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sun Sep 24 19:51:03 2023
    On Sun, 24 Sep 2023 19:11:49 -0400, Michael Trew
    <[email protected]> wrote:

    Years from now, people will freak out as to how the
    kids went all of that time with no seat belts to and from school!

    City school buses may have few accident issues, but with rural school
    buses going 60 mph, then harmful accidents can happen.

    I believe that accident was on a rural highway.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Theo@21:1/5 to Michael Trew on Tue Sep 26 19:36:23 2023
    Michael Trew <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 9/23/2023 7:07 AM, JAB wrote:
    School buses are among the safest ways to travel, and school bus
    safety remains among the NTSB's special topics of advocacy. Ensuring
    that all passengers are properly wearing available seat belts further improves the safety of school buses. At the time of the crash, the Hempstead ISD had not implemented a mandatory seat belt policy as
    required by the state of Texas. Hempstead ISD has now updated its
    policy to require seat belt use for students and staff.

    I guess this is a state-by-state issue. In both Ohio and PA states,
    when I grew up (graduated 2013), no school bus had any seat belts. None
    of us were ever injured. Even in a crash, I think we would have been
    just fine with the sheer size and weight of the bus, plus padded seats
    front and back. Years from now, people will freak out as to how the
    kids went all of that time with no seat belts to and from school!

    Around here (UK) it's the law to wear seatbelts on all coaches, but not on
    city buses. School transport (such as there is, there isn't blanket
    provision) tends to be a collection of older vehicles retired from revenue service, so you get either a coach or a bus depending on the operator. Sometimes services are contracted out to a city bus operator, so you get regular service buses (maybe even taking fare paying passengers as well as kids).

    The reason for the seatbelt law for coaches is that coaches running off motorways or overturning is a regular occurrence, and it used to be not
    unknown for dozens of fatalities. The seatbelts help there, although not everybody wears them.

    Theo

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