'04 Prius involved in fatal accident

Am I correct that in the background of the accident picture is an overturned piece of road grader equipment? Did this fall off the semi which hit the Prii? Could this have fallen off the semi flatbed onto the Prii and made the discussion of survivors mute (seatbelts or not)?

 

This doesn't work. Society still foots the bill for irresponsible people. And I say this as an experienced attending physician at a university hospital in southern California. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Drive responsibly or don't drive.

Jody Rawles, M.D.
Long Beach, CA

 

Daniel,
You may want to have your friend look a little more closely at his car's seatbelts. They aren't connected to the seat, but to the floor and side pillar and floor. If he had been belted when his seat came loose it would have been more pressure on him than if it hadn't but it wouldn't go flying around the car. I expect he suffered more personal damage than necessary.

 

The point here is that if the officer can't see that you aren't wearing the belt, he/she can not pull you over for not wearing it. They can not stop you for a seatbelt check any more than they can stop you to see if you might just happen to have heroin in your shirt pocket. The difference is if they pull you over for another reason (even if it is the mostly overlooked "not signalling soon enough" cited earlier) they can see if you are belted, but they do not have the right to search your pockets for drugs without other cause.

 

The earth mover fell of the flatbed from the flatbed slamming on the brakes. The earthmover never hit the car.

 

It looks like the Prius caught the entire impact in the side. Give the fact that it was an 18-wheeler with a 20,000 lb load, its pretty impressive that the car still _looks_ like a Prius.

BTW, why are the front license plates gone?

 

Maybe it's so the car couldn't be identified in case next of kin coulkd not be reached (just a guess)

 

I thought the accident occurred in Texas.......(Denton)????

 

1. There are no front plates in Michigan.
2. Many (if not all states) have gone to "No Seatbelt" as a Primary offence. This means they can pull you over for it. Those who have not risk losing federal highway funds, in the same way that .08 blood alcohol is the limit in most states (again, to avoid losing federal highway funding).
3. Seat belts stretch. They are woven fibers, not solid, for a reason. They stretch during a collision and reduce the momentary force applied to your body by stretching as well as spread the force across the hard points (hips, sternum/shoulder). If it was solid and not stretchy, it would kill you.
4. There are no types of collisions where "it was a good thing he wasn't wearing a seatbelt." Occasionally some unbuckled soul survives a horrific looking wreck, and some survivors, bystanders, and even cops have some sort of vision in their head about what the seat belt would have done if it had been fastened, however, usually descriptions of this image naively contain an immobile, unstretching seat belt that has become unbuckable and/or turned into some sort of blade/ straight jacket. In reality, the person was just lucky, and if they had been belted, they would have removed the belt and been just as uninjured/ less injured.

Nate

 

First they're going to require you to wear seat belts.
Next, they'll make silly rules about drinking and driving.

We have certain enumerated rights, including (but not limited to) free speech, freedom from government imposed religion, press....

Driving is not a right, it is what is called a "privilege."

It's a sham that some "A-hole" cop didn't stop those children for not wearing a seat belt, smell the beer, arrest them and call their folks...oh, I forgot, it was in Texas....I forgot, losers get to be gov in Texas and then do what they did for Texas, for the US and the world.....

See, if only the cops stopped those kids, or for that matter some drunk scion of a New England family...just think...

 

Just to add a little more fuel to the fire.

Did you know that the only individual to survive the crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales, was the only one wearing a seat belt?

 

Bruceha, my friend is not one to be convinced by logic. In any case, his reasoning is that because the belt is connected to the floor of the car, it would have cut him in half at the waist, or at least strangled him at the waist, when the seat came loose. But he believes many untenable things (e.g. that salt in excess is not bad for you if it is fermented, and that if you eat 3 almonds every day you will never get cancer) and he is not interested in discussions about his beliefs. I am afraid nothing I can say will change his attitude.

 

Ah, figured he'd be caught between a moving rock and a hard place! I think you are right not to press it, some people are less likely to listen to your reasoning the harder you try (talk to my 11 year old some time!). Maybe he'll change his mind after he gets a few "no-belt" tickets and is about to lose his license. Otherwise, my potential future condolences to you and his next of kin.

 

I may be a Democrat, but let's watch the Texas bashing there, buddy. I love my state and I'm proud to call myself a Texan. If you want to criticize the Prez, be my guest. Just don't lump an entire state into it. :x

 

I've always thought it would be a good thing for everyone if we gave Texas back to Mexico.

 

Who would we give North Dakota to :mrgreen: ?