Obese Less Likely to Use Seat Belts
Something to amuse you on a Friday. This seems like common sense to me. Click “read more” for the full story from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Something to amuse you on a Friday. This seems like common sense to me. Click “read more” for the full story from the San Francisco Chronicle.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Wow, I didn’t realize this was even an issue. I know you meant this to be read for amusement, but I think it’s sad and upsetting that anyone should be left unaccounted for in seatbelt safety.
Being from Buffalo, NY, I know a lot of people who are larger than the safety standard (A 215 lb man 47″ hip circumference). In fact, even my father is quite a bit larger than 215, and he’s not even that big compared to many. While I wish everyone could maintain a normal BMI for health reasons, I hate the idea of people being in danger because they can’t fit in the seat belts.
You would think auto companies would be able to consider the entirety of the American market by engineering a seat belt that was longer, but that could be set to extend the full length for larger people or set to only extend to standard lengths in order to protect smaller people when they are riding in a car as well.
February 10th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
If you read the entire original article, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Chrysler LLC, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. oversize the seat belts in most cars sold here and many carmakers will provide you with an extender that allows the belt to be extended even further. At least one company, Ford, will give buyers the extenders for free. I think the big issue is that the seat belts are uncomfortable for larger people. Maybe someone needs to invent a better seatbelt?