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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (22699)	7/2/2006 5:03:06 PM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541598

Government should mandate seatbelt solutions that fit or can be made to fit 100% of drivers. I am surprised they don't now but we can probably chalk that up to effective (and highly paid) lobbyists on the Hill. How many deaths are acceptable? If I can't find a 100% solution per the above and my choice is one short driver in a thousand dies compared to 20-30 others who die from not wearing seatbelts, then I would suggest you find a good custom car seat because you would be SOL from me. ;<) The idea that seatbelts not be mandated for people for whom the current available seatbelts are more dangerous than protective is a good one. I would vote for that amendment to the overall seatbelt law.

To: Lane3 who wrote (22699)	7/3/2006 4:45:02 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541598

As a lawyer, I think I know why seatbelt designs achieve a happy medium and stop there. It's cost-effective to come up with a design that saves the lives of the vast majority and leave it at that. They're supposed to save lives, comfort is secondary. I can tell you from experience that if an automobile doesn't meet government standards for safety equipment, and an accident occurs and the safety equipment doesn't do what it's supposed to do, that auto manufacturer just lost several million dollars. You and I talked about modifications via PM, and after we did, my thought was "if I modify the seatbelts to accommodate my tall sons and the modifications fail in a bad wreck, can I live with myself?" The answer is no. I'm a Safety Mom. Let them complain, I'm not changing a thing. If the seatbelts fail, Toyota has deep pockets. (In the case I am thinking of, the seat reclined almost all the way back for the passenger to take a nap, but in a wreck, the neck rest flew off backwards when the seat was reclined. Result, broken neck for the passenger, megabucks for the case.)