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Seat Belts Key to Survival in Bridge Collapse
ABCNews ^ | Aug. 2, 2007 | EMILY FRIEDMAN

Posted on 08/03/2007 9:11:41 AM PDT by Daffynition

Plunging 60 feet off a bridge in a car sounds like a sure death sentence, but survival experts say people can and do walk away from such a calamity, for a simple reason: They were wearing their seat belts.

"The people who got out without a scratch absolutely had their seat belts on," says Brian Brawdy, survival expert and a former New York City police officer. "If you're knocked unconscious because you weren't wearing your seat belt, you won't be swimming to the surface."

Kimberly Brown, who survived the bridge collapse, told "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts that had she not been wearing her seat belt, she was certain she would have gone through her car's windshield.

With four confirmed fatalities, Minneapolis authorities say they expect the death toll to rise as vehicles' that fell more than 60 feet into the Mississippi River are recovered.

Chances of surviving for those still submerged in the river now almost 24 hours later are remote, experts say. The combination of the impact and the speed at which cars sink give passengers mere minutes to avoid suffocation.

"[Drivers] would have three to five minutes, depending on how much of the water is rushing in and then given the size of the car," says Brawdy.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Local News; Miscellaneous; Travel
KEYWORDS: 35w; bridgecollapse; seatbelt; survival
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To: Hegemony Cricket

Yes.

But not because people need to be protected from their own stupidity, because the cost of care is passed on to the taxpayers when someone with no insurance has to be taken to the emergancy room or they have to bring in an Air Evac chopper.

Less badly injured people, less taxpayer burden.

The same reason insurance companies give discounts to “good drivers”.


41 posted on 08/03/2007 12:21:13 PM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius

Great. So I can count on your support when I propose legislation requiring everybody to eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables each day?


42 posted on 08/03/2007 12:31:05 PM PDT by Hegemony Cricket (You can take the boy out of the country, but you just can't get the smell off his shoes.)
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To: Hegemony Cricket

No, but you have that big “speed limit” hypocrisy you’ll have to deal with when you do propose it.


43 posted on 08/03/2007 12:33:25 PM PDT by Anitius Severinus Boethius
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To: trisham
A few weekends ago I was on a call (EMT) to a motor vehicle accident. Some young fool had bought a car with brakes that the seller told him were bad, drove around for three weeks, and rear-ended someone. The cars weren't much damaged, but he had knocked in six lower teeth on the steering wheel, and continued upward to put a nice spiderweb in the windshield with his forehead.

Then he got out and walked around for a while and when the cops got there, he got back in his car and buckled himself in.

Mrs VS

44 posted on 08/03/2007 12:34:40 PM PDT by VeritatisSplendor
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To: VeritatisSplendor

Wow. That had to hurt. It could have been a more painful lesson, I guess.


45 posted on 08/03/2007 12:40:22 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius

Wow, chief, you’re going to have to explain that one.


46 posted on 08/03/2007 12:53:44 PM PDT by Hegemony Cricket (You can take the boy out of the country, but you just can't get the smell off his shoes.)
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To: Turbopilot

I don’t like them very much.

I REALLY don’t like being MOLESTED (violation of 4th Amend) for daring to NOT wear 1, much less being fined for it. What a scofflaw renegade I am! It’s not right. These do-gooder laws over something that has nothing to do with anyone else’s rights have made me resent belts even more. You bet.

I am an engineer. The chances of even being in an accident are very small. Small enough that to me the cost outweighs the benefit. I can turn around much better to see what’s behind me before I change lanes, etc., never mind just plain freedom.

I have decided that it’s more risky in bad weather, so I usually wear it when it’s raining/snowing, etc. But on good days, no.

My mother has claustrophobia - caused by doctors belting her in for surgery, in fact - and she doesn’t like them at all.


47 posted on 08/03/2007 12:55:49 PM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius

“But not because people need to be protected from their own stupidity, because the cost of care is passed on to the taxpayers when someone with no insurance has to be taken to the emergancy room or they have to bring in an Air Evac chopper.”

Same ol’ domino-effect argument that ALWAYS comes up with this.

We are NOT violating anyone’s RIGHTS by (gasp) not wearing a belt.

What about the people who are injured who WERE wearing belts? So, I guess your reasoning is out with that. It DOES happen, anecdotes or not - belts are not the end-all be-all savior. We still have to pay even for the people wearing belts!

That whole domino-effect nonsense can apply to ANYthing. Everything affects everything else, so you can start making laws just based on that. It’s circular and ridiculous.

Mostly, like light cameras, it’s a money-making scheme.


48 posted on 08/03/2007 1:00:54 PM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: Anitius Severinus Boethius

The speed limit, at least (though tenuous), deals with people’s RECKLESS BEHAVIOR possibly ENDANGERING other people’s lives.

Seat belts or not do NOT endanger another person’s life.

No matter all the domino-effect circular nonsense the supporters come up with.


49 posted on 08/03/2007 1:06:04 PM PDT by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: the OlLine Rebel
In the South, we have a saying for that kind of reasoning: "cutting off your nose to spite your face."

I don't like or agree with seatbelt laws either. (I also don't like laws that prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to people who don't wear seatbelts.) But that doesn't mean I'm going to endanger myself and others just to spite them.

If you're an engineer, you should enjoy this exercise: Most any modern car can sustain steady-state lateral acceleration of at least .8g (maybe .7g for trucks and SUVs) and instantaneous acceleration even higher than that. Let's say a tire bounces in your lane and you swerve out of the way at just .5g lateral acceleration. How much force will you have to exert on the steering wheel just to keep from sliding out of your seat? Once you've done that, you will realize that you can't possibly keep control of your car at the same time as you're instinctively trying to keep yourself in your seat by tugging on the wheel. I don't mind people endangering themselves, but you put yourself in a situation where you're almost certainly going to lose control if you have to make any abrupt maneuver, and that endangers other drivers.

One more point:

I can turn around much better to see what’s behind me before I change lanes, etc.

Your mirrors are adjusted improperly. You should be able to see both adjacent lanes completely. And if you're actually turning around/sideways (i.e. no longer facing front) that sounds frighteningly dangerous. Feel free to look it up or Freepmail me if you don't know how to do this.

50 posted on 08/03/2007 1:28:20 PM PDT by Turbopilot (iumop ap!sdn w,I 'aw dlaH)
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To: the OlLine Rebel
You're absolutely right about the distinction between endangering your life and endangering another person's life. Medical insurance is not an excuse to restrict the freedom of people who didn't ask for the state to pay for their medical insurance. Therefore, I think laws requiring ADULT motorcyclists to wear helmets are wrong.

However, there is an additional point regarding seat belts. If you are wearing a seatbelt, you are more likely to be able to maintain control of the car in an accident, because you don't get thrown around after an impact or a swerve. This DOES affect the safety of other people. So I can justify seatbelt laws.

51 posted on 08/03/2007 1:38:17 PM PDT by VeritatisSplendor
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To: Gator101

“steel center-punch”

For breaking a window? If not it sure sounds like a good idea. The thing I think about most with a submerged car is how to break a window because opening a door would probably be next to impossible.


52 posted on 08/03/2007 2:08:12 PM PDT by jwh_Denver (Ok, it's time for the Republicans to start ripping themselves apart.)
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To: trisham
Do you recall the story of Barbra Mandrell and her children?
They were out driving one night and saw a horrible car wreck. For some reason, she told her kids to buckle up. She did too. Minutes later, they were slammed head on by a drunk driver. The seatbelts saved their lives. When I read that in the papers years ago, I resolved to use the seatbelts every single time I drove. Amazing what hits home for people, isn’t it? About two years later, I was in a pretty serious accident with a pickup, and my young son and I walked away with only bruises. I love Barbra Mandrell and her sisters. That’s real talent!

Prayers for all the people involved in the 35 bridge. God bless them all.

53 posted on 08/03/2007 2:41:13 PM PDT by ishabibble (ALL-AMERICAN INFIDEL)
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To: jwh_Denver
For breaking a window?

Yep. I saw a demo and was amazed how easy a center-punch would break a side window. The nice thing about it was that you didn't even have to whack it real hard. In the demo it just took a medium tap with a little pressure. I figure that would come in handy if you were injured or in a strange position and couldn't get a full swing. It is supposed to be even easier underwater with the pressure of the water helping to break the glass (the same pressure that makes it very hard to open doors until your car fills up).

I figure it would also come in handy if I had to use it to break somebody else's window after coming upon an accident.

I guess the trick is to store it in a convenient place where it would most likely stay put in an accident so you could find it quick, yet not be enclosed in a space that you might not be able to open due to damage to the car (like a glove box). I clipped a pretty sturdy sheath for it next to my car seat and hope that it will be there waiting if I ever need it (knock on wood).

54 posted on 08/03/2007 2:41:54 PM PDT by Gator101
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To: ishabibble

That’s an incredible story. I’m glad to hear it did some good, I’m sure more good than we will ever know.


55 posted on 08/03/2007 2:43:49 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: Daffynition
You have a much better chance of surviving any impact if you're not bouncing around the inside of the car like a pinball.
56 posted on 08/03/2007 2:47:10 PM PDT by Redcloak (The 2nd Amendment isn't about sporting goods.)
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To: ishabibble
True story that happened to me. I was a passenger in my buddies truck coming back from leave back in about ‘93 and we rolled it five times (that according to witnesses...I kind of lost count after the first couple rolls) on the interstate trying to avoid a skunk. We both were wearing seat-belts and walked away with just minor cuts and bruises. The thing that haunts me to this day is that I had only put my seat-belt back on about 5 miles before it happened. Before that I had been sleeping so I took it off to get more comfortable. After feeling they way the g-forces were trying to rip me from that truck and having only the seat-belt keeping me in is something I will never forget. Needless to say I am religious about wearing it now.
57 posted on 08/03/2007 3:01:08 PM PDT by Gator101
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To: Redcloak
if you're not bouncing around the inside of the car like a pinball.

That's if you're lucky. The bodies of unbelted drivers are frequently found some feet away from the crash scene. Or not found at all until the car is rolled off from on top of them.

58 posted on 08/03/2007 3:13:53 PM PDT by Turbopilot (iumop ap!sdn w,I 'aw dlaH)
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To: Gator101

Great thinking. If a car is underwater and pressure from the outside, per your post, I would suspect the entire window would break up into tiny pieces of glass. What would happen in your case of coming onto an accident on a road? Would the center punch break the entire window or just part of it? If it doesn’t what do you do? I’m also thinking of how not to spray a passenger with pieces of glass.


59 posted on 08/03/2007 3:18:21 PM PDT by jwh_Denver (Ok, it's time for the Republicans to start ripping themselves apart.)
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To: Gator101
Glad you’re OK, it truly is something that you can never forget. My father died in a horrible car accident and I doubt that a seat belt could have saved him, but he was so macho and it was 1976, he wouldn’t be caught dead wearing one anyway. *bad pun intended* But I always have to wonder...
60 posted on 08/03/2007 3:27:15 PM PDT by ishabibble (ALL-AMERICAN INFIDEL)
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