4 ms·

It amazes me that all these safety features are considered required, and that the bar is so high. Yes, they'd be nice, but people managed to survive prior to th

by pnathan 14y ago

It amazes me that all these safety features are considered required, and that the bar is so high. Yes, they'd be nice, but people managed to survive prior to the safety features being engineered.

lmm 14y ago
Except for those that didn't.
brazzy 14y ago
Not all of them did: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in...
- raverbashing 14y ago
  Well 2012 number is around 10 deaths per 100,000 habitants. In 1990 it was 17 per 100k. These are rates comparable to 1925 (while the number of cars was still in rapid ascent) Now, I don't know if there is a statistic of that, but it seems to me the main contributor to your road safety is yourself. So don't speed, don't DUI, know the limitations of your vehicle and you should be pretty safe even driving a car from 1990.
  - brazzy 14y ago
    A 40% reduction in fatalities does not seem significant to you? And here are historical sales figures: http://wardsauto.com/keydata/historical/UsaSa01summary http://wardsauto.com/keydata/historical/UsaSa01summary - starts in 1931, but suggests that the number of cars in 1925 was about 1/10 that of 1990 (for about 1/3 the population). And no amount of personal competence and carefulness can fully protect you against other people's mistakes.
    - raverbashing 14y ago
      "40% reduction in fatalities" is similar to "double the risk of cancer", it does not tell anything about the real risk The average risk is still small by today's standarts at 17 by 100k (per year). It's probably better because of systemic improvements (and in the 90's you were adding older cars to the statistic) Besides, you're not going to stay with the clunker forever. Everything has a risk in life, but if some prefer to live in a bubble so be it.
freehunter 14y ago
The reason these safety features are considered required now is because of the number of people who did not manage to survive. The ones who lived often don't pay attention to the ones who did not until the numbers are looked at on a macro scale. Car accidents are not always the dead man's fault.
snowwrestler 14y ago
And plenty of pedestrians and bicyclists die every year too. It's a risk just walking out your front door.

by pnathan 14y ago

It amazes me that all these safety features are considered required, and that the bar is so high. Yes, they'd be nice, but people managed to survive prior to the safety features being engineered.

lmm 14y ago

Except for those that didn't.

brazzy 14y ago

Not all of them did: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in_U.S._by_year http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_in...

raverbashing 14y ago
Well 2012 number is around 10 deaths per 100,000 habitants. In 1990 it was 17 per 100k. These are rates comparable to 1925 (while the number of cars was still in rapid ascent) Now, I don't know if there is a statistic of that, but it seems to me the main contributor to your road safety is yourself. So don't speed, don't DUI, know the limitations of your vehicle and you should be pretty safe even driving a car from 1990.
- brazzy 14y ago
  A 40% reduction in fatalities does not seem significant to you? And here are historical sales figures: http://wardsauto.com/keydata/historical/UsaSa01summary http://wardsauto.com/keydata/historical/UsaSa01summary - starts in 1931, but suggests that the number of cars in 1925 was about 1/10 that of 1990 (for about 1/3 the population). And no amount of personal competence and carefulness can fully protect you against other people's mistakes.
  - raverbashing 14y ago
    "40% reduction in fatalities" is similar to "double the risk of cancer", it does not tell anything about the real risk The average risk is still small by today's standarts at 17 by 100k (per year). It's probably better because of systemic improvements (and in the 90's you were adding older cars to the statistic) Besides, you're not going to stay with the clunker forever. Everything has a risk in life, but if some prefer to live in a bubble so be it.

freehunter 14y ago

The reason these safety features are considered required now is because of the number of people who did not manage to survive. The ones who lived often don't pay attention to the ones who did not until the numbers are looked at on a macro scale. Car accidents are not always the dead man's fault.

snowwrestler 14y ago

And plenty of pedestrians and bicyclists die every year too. It's a risk just walking out your front door.