Seat belts, air bags, endless safety equipment....they give us all the more
reason to feel it's OK to zip along and stay in such a hurry all the time.
Life has gotten so much faster in the past 40-50 years. I know I've seen my
share of stress from always needing to get somewhere faster. That's one of
the biggest reasons I got my Oletruck....so I could slow life down a little.
I drive my truck slower, start stopping way ahead of when I need to, and
watch out better for other drivers. The 1947 Chevys didn't have a lot of
safety equipment, and as a result, I drive much more safely in my
oletruck...and have a helluva lot more fun doing it.
Tom Caperton
'47 2nd 3100
-----Original Message-----
From: Lewis Osborn <losborn@teleport.com>
To: oletrucks-digest@autox.team.net <oletrucks-digest@autox.team.net>
Date: Tuesday, March 02, 1999 11:05 AM
Subject: Re: [oletrucks] Off-topic: Older vs. Newer vehicles- which is
safer?
>From: Jeremy Eastman <jeastman@appliedtheory.com>
>
>>Don't take this as my having a grief with seat belts or good brakes (I
>have
>>'em both), but there's a theory here about modern automotive safety
>devices
>>and traffic fatalities that some ole trucker's might find interesting.
>>
>>Risk Homeostasis and the Futility of Protecting People from Themselves
>>http://www.i2i.org/SuptDocs/Personal%20Freedom/RiskHomeostasis.htm
>>
>>Basically, [steel dash = more perceived risk = safer driving]
>>(Or, if we all had 2 gallons of nitro under the dash, would there be as
>>many traffic accidents?)
>
>Problem is, all those other drivers have rubber dashes and air bags.
>
>I think about this often, as my other hobby is motorcycle touring, where
>there is no such thing as a "fender-bender." When I was growing up, the
>only reason there were infant/child car seats was so the kid could see
>out easier. I/we found it was easier for me to stand up in the seat. I
>also rode in the back of pickups and trucks every once in a while. Seat
>belts? I never used one until I was old enough to vote. I survived my
>childhood. Did some kids die who would have lived had they been
>following todays laws? Sure, but I think that people, in general, had
>more common sense, and gave more thought to the consequences of their
>actions 40 years ago than they do now. Why? I don't know, but it
>_could_ have something to do with the fact that the government is
>"offering" to to so much of our thinking for us, anymore. Why should it
>be necessary to tell us to keep fresh meat refridgerated or frozen, for
>instance?
>
>I'm not suggesting that safety features should not be used. If I had
>kids in my home, I'd use car seats, and I use seatbelts all of the
>time - and a helmet when I'm on the motorcycle. I do agree that some -
>many? - people use "safe" cars as a reason to be a less "safe" driver.
>I'm sure that there will soon be a law against being an 'un-safe"
>driver. :-)
>
>Lewis - K7LVO Valley of the Rogue-Medford, OR
>"The Forty" - 40 Chevy PU - One Owner
>http://www.teleport.com/~losborn/1940.html
>
>
>
>
>
>oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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