Seat Belts

Did you really think they were dispensable ? Read this excellent account by a paramedic on what he sees at accident scenes and why he thinks seat belts are here to stay. I wish everyone would read this and use seatbelts.

here be some interesting quotes:

Do you know how we can tell the difference between people who were wearing their seatbelts and those who weren’t, at the scene of an automobile accident? The ones who were wearing their seatbelts are standing around saying “This really sucks,” and the ones who weren’t are kinda just lying there.

In a collision, you have three or four sub-collisions all taking place in sequence. First, the vehicle hits some object. The vehicle abruptly slows, but unrestrained objects inside it continue at the same speed, in the same direction. Then the unrestrained body hits the interior of the vehicle, and starts to slow. That’s the second collision. That body’s internal organs are still moving at speed until they hit the inside of the chest (or get cheese-sliced by their supporting ligaments—and that’s where you get things like bisected livers or aortas). The fourth collision is when the bowling ball you left on the rear deck hits you in the back of the head, because that continued at the same speed in the same direction. Newtonian physics: Learn it, live it, love it.

The article talks about a bowling ball in the rear. I try telling people how dangerous it is to leave stuff behind the back seat. Believe me a cell phone left in the rear can go cleanly right through your head in the event of a frontal collision. You just cant help but love Newtonian physics.

This post brought you you by a guy who does not wear a Helmet on a motorbike. I know I know..