[geeks] Mac definitions

[Bob]

>Things have changed a lot since the 70s.

>Back then most accidents, just as now, were relatively low speed and
>close to home. They were also the most deadly overall, with a large
>percentage of them resulting in severe injury and death. Even common
>fender benders when I was growing up involved ambulances.

Hmmm.... I remember ambulances being a rarity, but then again, I'm in NJ,
memory can be faulty and it was in the fifties.

>It was not uncommon for cars to survive even fatal accidents and remain
>usable. My father once worked an accident on a 70s model Ford that had
>been in multiple fatal accidents.

>Now most of those common accidents are "walk away" affairs.

Eeeeh....not to sure of that.

There are multiple reasons for this, it is not all vehicle construction.

Up through the 70s several things were typical:

>- cars did not maintain the front seat area's structure
>- cars did not absorb energy in a collision
>- cars did not prevent engine intrusion
>- steal was heavier but weaker
>- there was no impact armor/bars in cars (or few had it)
>- many people did not wear seat belts
>- many seat belts were lap only which pivot the wearer forward into the
> dash or the rear seat
>- vehicles did not have anti-lock brakes and other features to help
> maintain control in adverse situations

>Now things look different:

>- cars tend to preserve the front seat area structure
>- cars absorb most of the energy in a collection
>- cars prevent engine intrusion
>- fuel tanks are safer
>- people are far more likely to be wearing seat belts
>- seat belts are better now and all require shoulder harness
>- almost all cars now have air bags
>- ...anti-lock breaks
>- ...360 degree impact armor (steel bars in doors and other critical
> locations)
>- some cars even have traction control

>All of those things factor into how survivable a crash is, not just any
one.

>There are also a lot of negatives now:

>- there are more distractions
>- road design, especially parking lots, is horrible now
>- people have greatly increased their use of things that should never be
>  used while driving (cellphones, etc)
>- there are more people on the road
>- some safety features in cars have made people lazy

>That last one is important, although the real cause is that there just
>has never been good driver education in this country, and probably a lot
>of others as well.

I have a few nitpicky points.  I don't think the seat belts are better,
they've
become thinner and more likely to stretch which is what brought air bags
into the mix.  ABS wasn't necessary because people learned to pump
their brakes  when there was good driver training.  When I learned
to drive in the late sixties, I used a professional driving school and
the
instructor took me to a local park whose road was glare ice and taught me
how to drive under those conditions.  Most high schools have no on the
road
training because they can't afford the insurance on the driver's ed car
even though, according to insurance company records, they are the safest
cars on the road.  Simulators, bleah!  People drive too aggressively and
put
too much trust into the car (it'll stop in time).  I guess you could say
that the part of the car with the most defects is the loose nut behind
the
wheel.  :-)

Bob

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