[geeks] Mac definitions

[Shannon]

On 15-Jul-2011 10:22, Bob wrote:
>> 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.

Its not just memory, its well recorded statistics: the common accidents
aren't the killers they used to be.

>> 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.

Well the cops and the emergency rooms are... :)

I'm talking about the accidents that used to commonly cause injury now
often just don't. The car is taking the hit.

> I have a few nitpicky points.  I don't think the seat belts are better,
> they've
> become thinner

I think its obvious most are better, outside of some really poor
mechanism designs that have come out.

It was a long time before most belts were even tested: no one even knew
if they worked or not.

Having talked to the people who see the end result of this stuff (cops,
hospital staff, etc) they all say that failures in the saftey equipment
are less now, in spite of obvious problems like premature air bag
deployment, etc.

> and more likely to stretch which is what brought air bags
> into the mix.  

Don't think so.

> ABS wasn't necessary because people learned to pump
> their brakes  when there was good driver training.  

Pumping your brakes doesn't make them perform as well as a modern
braking system.

Also pumping your brakes was not just a driver skill for traction
issues, it was to overcome serious problems with earlier brake systems.

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.  

That's good, but we need even more than that.

I had that training too, but mostly because I started driving in the
mountains when I was about 9.

> 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.  

Not sure how that is possible. Around here at least you cannot get a
license without a minimal number of on the road hours.

Regarding insurance: it would not about safety, it would be about the
damage a student is likely to do to the car. But again, everywhere I
know of still requires road time for a license.

> 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.  :-)

...and yet police, military, and racing teams use simulations all the
time to greatly improve their abilities.

It obviously works if you try to make it do so.