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Jury Finds Ford Liable
LA Times ^ | 10/22/05 | Bloomberg News

Posted on 10/24/2005 12:04:25 PM PDT by CSM

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To: CSM

The 1998 Windstar manual has that same warning also on page 158 and the following text on page 157:



Safety Belts
The use of safety belts helps to restrain you and your
passengers in case of a collision. In most states and in Canada,
the law requires their use. We strongly recommend that you use
them every time you travel in your vehicle.
Safety belts provide best restraint when:
n the seatback is upright
n the occupant is sitting upright (not slouched)
n the lap belt is snug and low on the hips
n the shoulder belt is snug against the chest
n the knees are straight forward

GEEZ!! What does Ford have to do, add an idiot light to the dash and include a DVD with English and Spanish translations for the literacy-impaired? Oooops, don't forget a VHS tape for the technology-impaired, and maybe an audiotape for the blind..


101 posted on 10/24/2005 1:55:16 PM PDT by brianl703 (Illegal aliens are to businessmen as Cliff's Notes are to college students.)
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To: CSM

Well, then, they shouldn't have a reclining drivers seat and cruise control. And automatic transmissions. And GPS navigation systems. What, I have to stay awake, too?


102 posted on 10/24/2005 1:57:03 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: livius
"I assume this refers to the boyz from the hood I see driving around here with their seats reclined so far back you can barely see the tops of their heads."

... makes them less of a target this way.

103 posted on 10/24/2005 2:12:06 PM PDT by ~Peter
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To: brianl703; Wolfie

>>The owner's manual warns against that.

It shouldn't have to, and the problem with doing that should be intuitively obvious to the most casual observer. No engineering degree required.


104 posted on 10/24/2005 2:19:26 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Guns themselves are fairly robust; their chief enemies are rust and politicians) (NRA)
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To: ncountylee
Martin was injured in 1999 while she was a passenger in the Windstar driven by her mother. Martin wouldn't have been hurt in the low-speed collision if she hadn't been reclining, Langdon said.

So, when auto manufacturers are forced to install a lockout system that prevents the seat from reclining while the car is moving... Then can car buyers bill Martin for the extra cost they have to pay?

105 posted on 10/24/2005 2:25:20 PM PDT by Stultis
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To: Wolfie
Why have reclining seats at all? If you're not supposed to use them when riding in the car, what's the point?

Silly Wolfie! 3 reasons right of the top of my skull:
1. Rest stops;
2. Drive-in movies (yeah, there still are such things!); and
3. Lover's Lane.

106 posted on 10/24/2005 2:27:33 PM PDT by IonImplantGuru ("Me? You talking to me? You talkin' to me? Then [BLEEP]... Well, I'm the only one here.")
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To: CSM

If Ford doesn't fight this tooth and nail they might as well shut down immediately.


107 posted on 10/24/2005 2:31:29 PM PDT by Cinnamon Girl (OMGIIHIHOIIC ping list)
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To: CSM
Bottom line, Ford has been found liable for failing to properly warn the public not to recline in their seats while driving.

Thats almost as bad as the 50 million that Winnebago had to pay out when the owner/driver of his new RV put the cruise control on and went back to the galley to make a pot of coffee.

Winnebago was forced to pay after the vehicle left the road and overturned because they didn't warn the owner that he had to stay in the drivers seat while it was in motion!

He also got a new RV out of the deal.

108 posted on 10/24/2005 2:43:42 PM PDT by EGPWS
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To: Wolfie

Image hosted by TinyPic.com

Why have reclining seats at all?

I've enjoyed the humorous answers to your question. On a more serious note, I'd like to see reclining seats BANNED on airplanes and buses. People may or may not utilize them in cars, but no one should utilize them on public transportation when anyone is behind them.

Back to the matter at hand.... TORT REFORM NOW!!!

109 posted on 10/24/2005 2:46:53 PM PDT by Pirate21 (The liberal media are as sheep clearing the path along which they will be lead to the slaughter.)
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To: Owl_Eagle
Well there is a true story out of California a few years ago where a guy was driving down I15 in his motorhome and put it in cruise control and went to the back to get something to eat... it hit another vehicle and some people were killed as a result... ended up with a lawsuit because the cruise control didn't keep the motorhome from hitting that vehicle....

Then there is the houseboat that went aground at Lake Powell a year ago where the people said they thought it rain on rails like Disneyland and they didn't realize they had to steer the boat.

110 posted on 10/24/2005 2:49:37 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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To: Wolfie
Why have reclining seats at all? If you're not supposed to use them when riding in the car, what's the point?


111 posted on 10/24/2005 3:03:11 PM PDT by txroadkill
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To: brianl703
(exclamation point in triangle symbol) WARNING Always drive and ride with your seatback upright and the lap belt snug and low across the hips.

I owned a Subaru Brat once, it had a warning on the sun visor that stated "This Is Not A Jeep"......after I sold it I bought a Jeep. True story.

112 posted on 10/24/2005 3:16:12 PM PDT by Decepticon (The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day (NRA)
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To: Wolfie
"I've put the seat all the way back and taken a nap while riding in a car many times."

We all have.

"It never once occurred to me that the car manufacturer made a seat that could be put in a position hat rendered the seat belt useless."

In [that] instance, perhaps.
But I can assure you the passenger would not have been thrown from the car regardless the seat position, and isn't that really what seat belts were designed to do.
Right?
Keep bodies "in" automobiles?

So some off-the-wall thing like this happens & the "victim" is awarded $16.5 million?
Who do you suppose will *pay* that judgment?
Ford?
HA!!

Won't be long before a chunk of blue ice will hit a moving vehicle, killing one or both occupants.
Means steel roofs y'know, and that's really gonna screwup CAFE standards. :o)

Of course that "safety" improvement comes last, after the $16.5 million award is paid by all of us who purchase & drive automobiles.

After all we're all not only gonna live forever, it's a *right*, one that's *guaranteed*.

...& you can bet the shysters will see to that.

113 posted on 10/24/2005 3:17:24 PM PDT by Landru
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To: Blurblogger

(Note to self...oops! not plaintiff, DEFENDANT!. Cleverness/Accuracy ratio less than 1.000 on that post....)


114 posted on 10/24/2005 3:37:21 PM PDT by The Spirit Of Allegiance (SAVE THE BRAINFOREST! Boycott the RED Dead Tree Media & NUKE the DNC Class Action Temper Tantrum!)
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To: Phantom Lord
What they really need is swivel seats so you can turn around and smack the kids.

About 30 years ago, Oldsmobile put swivel seats in the Cutlass as an option. But they swiveled OUT, toward the doors, to make it easier to get into and out of the card.

Now you know the answer to a trivia question. ;-)

115 posted on 10/24/2005 4:05:40 PM PDT by savedbygrace ("No Monday morning quarterback has ever led a team to victory" GW Bush)
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To: savedbygrace
About 30 years ago, Oldsmobile put swivel seats in the Cutlass as an option.And I had one!

I don't know which imrpressed people more, the swivel seats or the fact that I could hide an entire six pack inside the console (with ice).

116 posted on 10/24/2005 4:17:45 PM PDT by uglybiker (Cogito Ergo Spud -- I think, therefore I yam)
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To: Wolfie
My car has the warning on the sun visor and I'm always telling my kids not to recline when we're driving, that it is very dangerous. I just assumed everyone knew that. But then I work for lawyers - lol.
117 posted on 10/24/2005 4:30:03 PM PDT by mlc9852
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To: uglybiker

You bought one of those, too? The one with the reversible panels in the seats?


118 posted on 10/24/2005 4:38:28 PM PDT by savedbygrace ("No Monday morning quarterback has ever led a team to victory" GW Bush)
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To: Cobra64
My wife ran into my office to see what I was laughing at. She read your post, and she just rolled her eyes

My wife does the same thing when I show her stuff on FR...weird.
119 posted on 10/24/2005 4:51:14 PM PDT by Blowtorch (My wife does the same thing...wierd.)
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To: Blowtorch
My wife does the same thing when I show her stuff on FR...weird.

I just raise the blouse and look at the playground...

"Film at 11"...

LOL

120 posted on 10/24/2005 5:01:55 PM PDT by Cobra64
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