Letting Some Steam Off

[ECKSJAY]

Revenue is a side-effect of seatbelt laws.

Have ya ever tried to safely control a vehicle that was bouncing around at speed...while your ass is trying to fly right outta the seat? It doesn't work so well.

It's not just about your freedom to become head pizza on the sidewalk...it's about your dumb ass plowing into me because you couldn't control your shit.

 

[5-90]

Revenue is a side-effect of seatbelt laws.

Have ya ever tried to safely control a vehicle that was bouncing around at speed...while your ass is trying to fly right outta the seat? It doesn't work so well.

It's not just about your freedom to become head pizza on the sidewalk...it's about your dumb ass plowing into me because you couldn't control your shit.

I can understand that - but incompetent instructors and incompetent evaluators do not make for effective drivers. Went through that a few years ago when the boys took DE - which was not offered as part of HS, oddly enough...

They took DE to get a "break" on their insurance rates. I'm not sure why - the guy that taught them had no farking clue what he was about! Their DMV checkrides were too farcical to qualify as "comedy."

Should you go driving about without a seatbelt? That's largely up to you. Can you bounce around at high speeds? Certainly - especially if you cut the springs to lower your car (Gawd, I see that all bloody over!) Should you drive about at high speeds while you're bouncing? Certainly not - slow your arse down!

The main reason people get into trouble on the roadways is because they end up exceeding their capabilities. I guess I'm an oddity - if I get socked in with fog and visibility suddenly drops to 20 feet, I'll pull over and take a nap. If I get stuck in a "white-out," lift and start planning where to pull over and stop (well out of the way.)

So many roads incidents are caused by people who are exceeding their limits or ability. I'm all for pushing your limits to get better, but there's a reasonable pace and place to do so - and in traffic ain't it. It's amazing how many arsewits out here forget how to drive when the first rain of the season hits... Seatbelts may be helpful, but I resent being told to wear them (I'll usually do so anyhow, but that's just me) and they sure as Hell don't make you any smarter.

Granted, if we could get all the incompetent drivers off the roadways, we'd probably reduce traffic overall by about half.

 

[matt6669]

I totally agree with everything 5-90 just said.

Living in NJ you get to see some of the worst drivers on the road ways and its quite scary.

I think the whole process to getting your license should totally be evaluated and redone. That whole driving test at the dmv is a joke. That little test shows nothing about how a person can drive and DE is a joke as well.

I really think they should find a way to require people to go to a school like a skip barber racing etc and have to pass a test there. You will see a lot less people getting their licenses and a lot less people getting into accidents.

 

[kennzz05]

. Seatbelts may be helpful, but I resent being told to wear them (I'll usually do so anyhow, but that's just me) and they sure as Hell don't make you any smarter.

Granted, if we could get all the incompetent drivers off the roadways, we'd probably reduce traffic overall by about half.

i totally agree should be my choice not the gov'ts:soapbox: :worship: :rtm:

 

[JeepFreak21]

Seatbelts can be the difference between a higher insurance deductible and vehicular manslaughter... I just hope judges take that into account.
Billy

 

[Boatwrench]

So how was the concert?

 

[XJoshua]

Im all for seatbelts. Someone I knew in class was driving on wet road and was ejected from his bronco and killed on impacts. Not sure of speeds. But seat belts that are maintained can save lifes even if you get bruised and a major head ach.

Well last night was fun. My dad thought we had enough gas to get home. Ended up camping out on I25 in 23*F weather from 1am to 8am. We were stuck between Fountain and Pinon. Slept to the sound of 18 wheelers hauling ass all night while freezing my bawlz off!

Now its 10:12 and I need to goto work at 12:45 til 10:15 ughh! So Im going to bed for a couple hours. Night night.

 

[Darky]

Man more power to you for quittin cold turkey and working at a parts house....even though I dont smoke I sure as hell couldn't manage both like that.

And for the seatbelt thing, the laws used to be that people over the age of I believe 18 (maybe 21) were not required to wear one, but that just changed a few months ago to it being required for everybody. And like you said, the big money making revenue that it's become....the last thing I need is another ticket.

Putting on a seat belt is such a minor inconvenience, its not even worth complaining about, no matter the reason behind the law. Don't wear your seatbelt, get a ticket, get in an accident, and die. Or wear your seatbelt, don't get a ticket, and don't die when you crash. Its an easy choice.

EDIT: PS, about the actual post...as was said, quit giving your sister rides if she doesn't obey the rules. Her, you acually have some power over. For your insurance is it your wn policy, or are you added onto your parents insurance for an extra $50/month. I know my insurance has never been $50/month except maybe when I was added to my Mom's policy. If you're on your parents' policy, your dad may see it as his right to drive your Jeep since he's helping you with insurance. Not saying he's right, but you may have to get your own policy and pay the extra costs but free from that. If all else fails, buy a steering wheel lock. Or just run a cable from your steering wheel to some solid surface that'll prevent steering. Get a discreet kill switch so he can't figure out how to start it. Security system with a remote kill switch and keep the remotes for yourself...

 

[Slonopotam]

Granted, if we could get all the incompetent drivers off the roadways, we'd probably reduce traffic overall by about half.

Cheap and convenient public transportation ?
Deals with obesity too.

 

[Slonopotam]

Im all for seatbelts. Someone I knew in class was driving on wet road and was ejected from his bronco and killed on impacts.

One sad russian anecdote:
An accident, one guy was wearing a seat belt, another wasn't. The one without a seat belt flew out of the car and became a wet spot on the road, the other one is dead too, but is inside the car. CHP officer comes, looks at all the guts on the road and says - why couldn't you just wear a seatbelt ! You friend buckled up and looks quite alive still.

Another, not so sad story:
A couple of guys went on a motorcycle ride. They did not have helmets, but one of them found a solution - he cut a rubber ball to look like a helmet. His friend refused to put something like this on his head.
On a road they are being stopped by a drunked CHP officer, who decides to lecture the second guy about road safety and advantages of helmets - the helmet protects your head on impact and can save your life, blablabla, a small demonstration follows - he strikes the head of the guy wearing a piece of rubber with his baton. Ambulance, everybody lives.

 

[5-90]

Cheap and convenient public transportation ?
Deals with obesity too.

Make sense - we just haven't had the proper impetus to develop the infrastructure. America has been a "mobile" country since Henry Ford made the auto both popular and affordable - but that still does nothing whatever for the competence of the individual operator. Sadly - neither does the various DMV/BMV/whatevers throughout the country...

While we've long since fallen in love with the automobile, just about everyone has forgotten that driving is not a right - it is a privilege, which is why licenses are issued and testing is done for issuance. Too bad that testing has become black comedy in the last 10-15 years or so...

 

[5-90]

One sad russian anecdote:
An accident, one guy was wearing a seat belt, another wasn't. The one without a seat belt flew out of the car and became a wet spot on the road, the other one is dead too, but is inside the car. CHP officer comes, looks at all the guts on the road and says - why couldn't you just wear a seatbelt ! You friend buckled up and looks quite alive still.

Another, not so sad story:
A couple of guys went on a motorcycle ride. They did not have helmets, but one of them found a solution - he cut a rubber ball to look like a helmet. His friend refused to put something like this on his head.
On a road they are being stopped by a drunked CHP officer, who decides to lecture the second guy about road safety and advantages of helmets - the helmet protects your head on impact and can save your life, blablabla, a small demonstration follows - he strikes the head of the guy wearing a piece of rubber with his baton. Ambulance, everybody lives.

Interestingly, I've known a couple of people who have survived incidents because they were not wearing seatbelts - so much for "Buckle Up and Save A Life". (Statistically unlikely, I know - but it has happened.)

Hm - both of these involved CHP. Were they "Russian anecdotes" because you yourself are Russian?:rof: (Sorry Andrey, I just had to ask that...)

But, since the whole "Click It or Ticket" campaign got started around here a couple of years back (or was it sooner? Been hit in the head too many times...) I have to wonder about the motivation behind the law. Just like when they changed it (a few more years back) to giving John Law the ability to pull you over just because you're not wearing your seatbelt - or if it looks like you're not wearing your belt. Hmm...

As I've said, I'll buckle up when I'm driving any distance - but I'd prefer it to be my choice. It's a pain in the arse having to buckle up because you're literally going around the block - those of you who saw the last place I lived (you, Andrey - and Boatwrench, and a few others) know what I'm talking about. I'm going to be in the car for thirty seconds, and the speed limit was 25. But, since I'm on a "public roadway," I'm still subject to getting a ticket. Now that's silly.

 

[Slonopotam]

Have ya ever tried to safely control a vehicle that was bouncing around at speed...while your ass is trying to fly right outta the seat?

eeee. 130 foot 60 to 0 mph on clean dry asphalt- the best Grand Cherokee can do, Cherokee is not any better. looks like 0.9g to me. Might be hard.

On the other hand, most of emergency stops are necessary in not so perfect weather conditions, when the braking path is waaay longer and deceleration as much smaller. Should not be that hard unless you are bare-ass and your leather seat is sprayed with soapy water.

 

[Slonopotam]

Hm - both of these involved CHP. Were they "Russian anecdotes" because you yourself are Russian?:rof: (Sorry Andrey, I just had to ask that...)

No, authentic russian. I had to translate GIBDD (Road Transportation Safety State Inspection) somehow.

 

[5-90]

No, authentic russian. I had to translate GIBDD (Road Transportation Safety State Inspection) somehow.

Just checking. Actually, being a smartass more than anything else! How long have you known me?:laugh2:

To avoid confusion, you might find it easier to use "State Trooper" for that sort of thing - it's a generic term for the State Police (usually meant to patrol state highways, US highways, and Interstate highways,) since we don't have a "national" police with jurisdiction for traffic control (at least, that I know of.) Our Federal police agencies seem to be tasked with larger things - interstate crimes, violations of Federal law, counterfeiting, protection of foreign dignitaries, and the like.

The only "safe" roads incident is the one you don't get into - getting into any sort of roads incident is a crapshoot. It's just that you're less likely to come up sevens when you're wearing the belt.

While we're on this subject - anybody know anything about the "next generation" airbags? I recall there were some problems with the "first generation" blowups - the problem being that if you were outside of a fairly narrow range of size, they were at least as likely to cause you major injuries as the incident proper. I'm 6'3" and well over 200# - puts me over the top end. My wife is 5'2" - as I recall, she's several inches under the bottom of the range... Did they finally fix that? Does anyone actually know anything (citable sources? I like to look at source data myself...)

 

[1985xjlaredo]

First off Im heading to the Rob Zombie/Ozzy concert. Yay for me. Why Im angry, my dad bought them for a christmas present and didnt figure gas and food money into his budget. I take care of myself so Im alright, but him, my sister, and her friend just have candy. I cant help out because I have $26.48 in my bank until Checkers refund does through. Also my dad is pissed at me because I didnt know my Sprint rebate was in the mail for $100 which could have helped him out. So not only am I brokeish I also dont get paid until Friday. Now here's the kicker. He borrowed money and is using $20 to put E85 in his 92 F150. I told him the problems about doing that and that he wont get beter mileage as he thinks. So there will be a "I told you so" around 10 tonight and probally swapping fists. Im not a reliious person so I asked my cousin to pray he doesnt kill us tonight because he is driving agesively.

Im glad I packed my headphones so I can just zone out.

Next part.
New Years Eve. Since me and some buds said they liked going Clubbing when I took them to see Benny Benassi. So I saw Bad Boy Bill was playing new years eve at club Vynil. We said we'd all go and now only one wants to go since he is going to the navy in march. This is a problem because the one with the dependable ride doesnt want to go because he is afraid to ask his boss if he can go in earlier in order to come up with us. I told him just ask or atleast say you asked and lie to me. He wont do either. Also these musicians play House Electro. And we have been planing this since September. Which is more then enough time to ask and get money and time off. Just to shit out awhile before the show. So it might just me and a buddy who did everything I said to get the day off. So I told everyone that it isnt hard to do. They cant fire you for asking. So might be taking my worn out Heep to denver 133mile trip. Atleast it doesnt overheat.

Now about Jeeps:
When I bought it the guy had about 5 sets of spare made. I bring it home and my dad takes 4 sets. He drive my fracken jeep when ever he wants and trashes the interior. Most of all kills all my gas and doesnt put more in. Also when I let him borrow it he doesnt follow any of my rules. 1.) Keep the heater on "HEAT" and if you must use the AC flip th blue switch on otherwise it will over heat, 2.) if you must smoke roll the windows down and ash outside of the vehicle. 3.) Take your shat out of my Jeep when youre done 4.) If it looks broken dont try to fix it or improve it. 5.) wear you god damn mother fracken seat belt all the time. None of them follow this. Even my 16 year old sister. She refuses to wear a seat belt leaves her candy wrappers on the passenger floor when I drive he somewhere and ashes on the floor when she smokes which Ive told her to stop smoking all togeher and Id buy her first car for her. She wont quit. A free car as long as she quit smoking and kept a GPA of 2.0. That is not hard at all. Told her it was a Honduh CRX that I would rice out to her preference. But obviously smoking is something more important in her life. My mom doesnt drive me Jeep because her Explorer works good. But she wont let me drive it even when she is in it because she thinks Il get in a accident. I only pay $50 for insurance a month have been in two accidents. One when I didnt know what RWD and snow mixed together into. Broken control arm and cracket rims, no other vehicles involved. The other was a dumb blonde parallel parking her Avalanhce into my hood from two lanes away.

I need a vacation. All I need is my Jeep finished so I can go out of town and wheel and camp and just get away. 19 years with people I love to much and try what I can to support them doesnt work out. Time to move a couple citys away and enjoy college and freedom.

Thanks for reading my rant. Feels better. I just really need to take a a leak and the next pit stop is 50 miles away.

Dude all those problems are trivial! Except for the Jeep! Not to offend you but your father sounds like he is a piece of shit!. I don't know how old or how big you are but my Dad used to beat the shit out of me and my older brother and was just an alcholic POS. So one day when he was 16 and I was 14 we decided that the next time he decided to beat on us we would get him. Well we got him good, and he never messed with us ever since then and has accutully become a pretty good person.
Tell them to take a hike! Put a battery shut off on your Jeep. Put a fuel pump switch on there too. Call the cops the next time your dad steels your Jeep. Tell him to drive his POS Ford around. Anyways hope this gives you some Ideas.
Merry X-mas

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

Putting on a seat belt is such a minor inconvenience, its not even worth complaining about, no matter the reason behind the law. Don't wear your seatbelt, get a ticket, get in an accident, and die. Or wear your seatbelt, don't get a ticket, and don't die when you crash. Its an easy choice.

True, but when it's my ass on the line, then yeah it is worth complaining about (more like strictly enforcing). And my luck doesn't exactly help things either...