Can't resist coming out of my "lurker mode" (where I'm at almost all of the
time with regard to this list traffic) to comment on "safety" and how
seatbelts relate to it. Whenever I'm in my car (1960 BT-7), I always think
of myself as being in a "4-wheel-motorcycle" and try to drive
appropriately. Approximately 50% of motorcycle accidents are not the fault
of the rider, but are due to other factors (like not being seen). I always
(always) drive "defensively" (in other words, don't stop looking out for the
rest of the people on the road). Unless one is prone to pushing the limits
in one's vehicle (i.e. cornering hard enough to lose traction, trying to
stop too soon for conditions, etc.), using seatbelts won't be all that
helpful when it comes to avoiding injury in an accident. Our cars are
unable to passively protect us like more modern vehicles with air bags,
crush zones, collapsible steering linkage, and the like. I used to have
seatbelts in the back for my kids when they were young, but more to keep
them from climbing out than staying in place should we suffer a collision.
About the only situation where I could envision seatbelts being helpful in
regard to limiting driver & passenger injury would be in a sudden
deceleration-type accident, such as striking a stationary object (like a
tree, which hopefully one can avoid), or a head-on collision (if this
occurs, it probably is more an example of "when your number's up,."). So,
as you can surmise, I've foregone seatbelts for the present. .and I try to
stay out of the rain, off the wet leaves, driving slower than I used to when
I was younger, mostly in the daytime, & I'm still working on getting a third
brake light out there ('cuz that's my real fear - getting run down from
behind - like a true motorcycle driver, I always think I'm fast enough to
get out of the way of trouble ahead).
Phil Anson
BT-7
Portland, Maine
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