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Thursday, March 06, 2008

Safety

The Security at my workplace was instructed to give me a sticker for my car- one reminding me to wear my seat belt and the other not to use mobile while driving.
Thank you site manager for reminding me to be safe for my sake and for the sake of my family.
For reminding me that a machine at my disposal is to be used responsibly and carefully. For reminding me that safety is not a joke. I, an educated, responsible, adult should have known better.
How do I expect to set a good example to my kids when I am not doing the right thing? So ultimately it boils down to practice what you preach.
So, for every troll that attempts to push me towards the side and overtake me, I say better safe than sorry, no panga with idiots who have nothing to lose. I chew my pride and allow them to pass.
A colleague recalled an incident where driving through a snowed road, the car skidded and the back seat passanger who was without the seat belt got ejected out of the back windshield.

Many years ago, a bus hit our stationery vehicle from behind and the car dashed against a truck loaded with bamboo poles a few metres ahead.

Seat belt facts

  1. If unrestrained in a crash at 30mph, you will be thrown forward with a force up to 60 times your own body weight
  2. Adjust the seat properly. Place the lap belt as low as possible over the hips – not over the abdomen. Ensure the shoulder belt lies on the chest and over the shoulder. Do not leave any slack in the belt
  3. Do not interfere with the correct function of the seatbelt by fitting any comfort devices that are not recommended by your vehicle manufacturer
  4. Use seatbelts even when travelling at low speeds or going on a short trip
  5. Chances of being killed are almost 25 times greater if one is thrown from the vehicle
  6. The forces in a collision can be great enough to throw one as far as 150 feet – about 15 car lengths
  7. Seatbelts can keep one from:
    -Plunging through the windscreen
    -Being thrown out the door and hurled through the air
    -Scraping along the ground
    -Being crushed by own vehicle or oncoming vehicle
  8. In almost any collision, one is better off being held inside the vehicle by seatbelts
  9. Less than ½% of all injury-producing collisions involve fire or submersion. If fire or submersion does occur, wearing a seatbelt can save one's life.
  10. If involved in a crash without seatbelt, one might be stunned or knocked unconscious by striking the interior of the car. Then the chances of getting out would be far less.
  11. One's better off wearing the seatbelt at all times. With seatbelts, one's more likely to be unhurt, alert and capable of escaping quickly.
  12. While wearing the seat belt, when reaching for things that will take one away from the steering wheel, it’s safer to pull off the road at an appropriate location
  13. Holding the driver firmly, the seatbelt gives him the chance to keep control of his vehicle and prevents him from getting ejected off the vehicle
  14. In incidents involving heavy goods vehicles, the major cause of injury is contact with the interior of the cab. Wearing a seatbelt significantly reduces this risk
  15. Edited to add a tip from Suki- in case your car is upside down after an accident, the seat belt should be opened by pressing the button and pulling on the belt at the same time. Just the release button might not work in those circumstances.

5 comments:

Just Like That said...

Thank you, Itchy. those were good things to know. I never used to wear a seat belt, tho' I do make Sonny boy wear it whenever I drive with him. now I shall remember to put it on myself too.

Inder said...

i don't know why... i remember this joke i heard on TV... i think in letterman's late night show...

why do sky divers wear helmet? a helmet tells another helmet after an accident - "if only there hadn't been that guy, i can't imagine imagine what would have happened to me"

Itchingtowrite said...

JLT- welcome... me too used to wear only off and on until I read all th seat belt facts
inder- eithr ways the helmet would hav been saved. if the guy was notwearing the helmet, the helmet wouldn't have been diving on its own

Lavs said...

So much information!! Phew..I will come back to this when hubby buys me that new car...Now let me go and pester him for sometime:-0

Sukhaloka said...

My kiddy-hood in the US makes me very particular about seat belts. It's just ingrained into me I guess. And I feel much safer in a seat belt than without, especially in the wonky traffic here.

By the way, I think this would be useful info - in case your car is upside down after an accident, the seat belt should be opened by pressing the button and pulling on the belt at the same time. Just the release button might not work in those circumstances.
and yeah, better safe than ... sorry, or worse.