CAR BOMBS

by Gary Miller
December 7, 2004

 

Scores of Americans are killed or injured by car bombs every year!

 

These deadly bombs are not designed and planted in our vehicles by crazed terrorists. These bombs are installed by our auto manufacturers by order of our federal government!

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) November 2004 report, “since 1990, 250 deaths reportedly have been caused by airbags inflating in low severity crashes, most of them in older model vehicles. These deaths include 86 drivers, 11 adult passengers, 130 children, and 23 infants.”

One would think that with the volume of proof that automobile airbags present a much greater danger than we were informed of, and the amount of law suits accumulating in our courts, that the U.S. government and the auto manufacturers would admit they were wrong in forcing these horrific devices of destruction upon us. But apparently no such wisdom exists within the Washington Capitol or in the board rooms of Detroit!

No. I’m not a dare-devil type, or one who wants to flirt with danger. Yes. I have a strong regard for safety and COMMON SENSE methods to maintain a reasonable degree of safety in all facets of my life. But please give me some CHOICES! With seatbelt/shoulder harness installations, I can still make the choice to use those common sense devices. I can take the risk all on my own, of a traffic fine or possible personal injury or death if I fail to “buckle-up.” And not being a complete idiot, I do “buckle-up” when in any vehicle that provides them, and I always wear a safety helmet when riding a motorcycle. But the choice is still mine to make.

How many American citizens must be killed or maimed before a total recall of these deadly car bombs will be ordered?

On the 'Your Lawyer.Com' web site...
http://www.yourlawyer.com/practice/news.htm?topic=Airbag%20Injuries
...you can examine some of the court cases that have resulted from airbag deaths and injuries.

An August 20 report by ‘PersonalMD Online begins their opening paragraph with the following statement:

“Air bags can help save lives, but it's becoming more and more clear that they can also cause death and injury.”
http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1997082010.shtml

I remember the old safety slogan that said, “Speed Kills.” That little phrase is exactly on target when it comes to airbags. I have read tech reports that illustrate that these costly car bombs will explode into your face and body at speeds reaching close to 300 mph!

The PersonalMD report also quoted the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, where the Center made the following observation:

"Overall, it appears that about 40% of air-bag deployments result in at least one occupant injury (although most of these injuries are minor). Some of these injuries are occurring in low-speed crashes where the air bag protection was probably not necessary"...

I have a personal friend whose airbag deployed as a result of a very MINOR collision in a PARKING LOT. Believe me, there was much more damage done to her face by the airbag than was done to her car by the collision with the other car. Then there was the photographer at a recent family wedding I attended. I couldn't help but notice the scar that traveled from her elbow, almost all the way up her right arm. I asked my niece, who was acquainted with her about it, and she said it was the result of a traffic accident. What I found out later was that her vehicle was impacted at about 40-mph from the right front side. But the injury, which required multiple surgical procedures, was caused by the airbag as it inflicted a compound fracture to her arm.

But you say that you can request an 'OFF' switch. Huh! Just try to get through the paper work. Then try to get the paper work through to the feds and returned to you. If you are fortunate enough to receive permission to employ an 'OFF' switch after the customary 6-week delay, then you must go on an urban safari in search of a dealer or mechanic who has the guts to install it. The threat of federal fines of $5,000 to $10,000, and/or time in jail, can turn that big burly mechanic into a trembling pile of jello in a hurry.

For those of us who still ascribe to personal liberty, the fight against mandatory automotive airbags will be an uphill battle, to say the least. Once BIG BROTHER government puts its teeth into you, there is little chance that you will be able to free yourself. This sad situation forces many of us conservative types into making a perplexing decision. While many of us would welcome the much needed, and long overdue concept of Tort Reform, our best hope in this instance may be in class-action law suits. Or maybe... we need to organize a knee-jerk/bleeding-heart movement that would flood the news media and our legislators with data supporting our program to at least regain a small portion of our personal liberty. – Look how far MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) went with their pursuit of justice in a very short period of time.

Wake up America! It’s time to smell the roses... before BIG BROTHER tells us what roses are supposed to smell like!

 

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