Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> On Sat 14 Jun 2008 01:31:17p, Blinky the Shark told us...
>
>> Janet Baraclough wrote:
>>
>>> The message 0>
>>> from Wayne Boatwright > contains these words:
>>>
>>>
>>>> Back in the day before "super highways" and high speed freeways, there
>>>> were many fewer drivers, much less urban sprawl, and most speed limits
>>>> were far lower than today. Long distance travel was not as prevalent,
>>>> and I think many drivers were more careful. Yes, there were certainly
>>>> accidents and deaths, but it's difficult to equate those conditions to
>>>> those of today.
>>>
>>> Cars were heavier and less powerful and efficient, and people just
>>> drove a lot slower that today (in the UK at any rate) I doubt if my
>>> parents or fatherinlaw ever drove faster than 40 mph in their entire
>>> lives; and two of them were driving all day long for their work :-)
>>
>> The US was not like that. We've been driving much faster than 40MPH at
>> least since WWII.
>
> That wasn't necessarily true throughout the country, but perhaps where you
> lived.

The US highway system (which was...well, national) was 65 daytime and 55
nighttime when I was a kid in the 1950s.


--
Blinky
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On Sat 14 Jun 2008 08:51:43p, Blinky the Shark told us...

> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
>> On Sat 14 Jun 2008 01:31:17p, Blinky the Shark told us...
>>
>>> Janet Baraclough wrote:
>>>
>>>> The message 0>
>>>> from Wayne Boatwright > contains these words:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Back in the day before "super highways" and high speed freeways,
>>>>> there were many fewer drivers, much less urban sprawl, and most
>>>>> speed limits were far lower than today. Long distance travel was
>>>>> not as prevalent, and I think many drivers were more careful. Yes,
>>>>> there were certainly accidents and deaths, but it's difficult to
>>>>> equate those conditions to those of today.
>>>>
>>>> Cars were heavier and less powerful and efficient, and people just
>>>> drove a lot slower that today (in the UK at any rate) I doubt if my
>>>> parents or fatherinlaw ever drove faster than 40 mph in their entire
>>>> lives; and two of them were driving all day long for their work :-)
>>>
>>> The US was not like that. We've been driving much faster than 40MPH
>>> at least since WWII.
>>
>> That wasn't necessarily true throughout the country, but perhaps where
>> you lived.
>
> The US highway system (which was...well, national) was 65 daytime and 55
> nighttime when I was a kid in the 1950s.
>
>

Yep, that sounds right. Some secondary (smaller) highways were also 55
during the daytime. There seemed to be more people observing the speed
limits back then, too.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Saturday, 06(VI)/14(XIV)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Today is: Flag Day
-------------------------------------------
Plagiarism is the sincerest form of
flattery.
-------------------------------------------

blake murphy wrote:

> On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:57:47 -0700, Blinky the Shark
> > wrote:
>
>>Serene Vannoy wrote:
>>
>>> T wrote:
>>>> In article >,
>>>> says...
>>>
>>>>> Having a baby costs the world these days because
>>>>> marketing has assured us that only the most expensive
>>>>> is "safe enough". Thus the $200 carseat that is only
>>>>> suitable for six months and the $500 carriage and
>>>>> $1000 crib.
>>>>>
>>>>> Hah.
>>>>
>>>> Yep, the gene pool is definitely getting diluted.
>>>>
>>>> I wonder how we did survive sans car seat, seat belt etc?
>>>
>>> Well, lots of us *didn't*. A lot of the current safety laws came about
>>> after people were maimed and killed.
>>
>>One of the car mags - probably Car and Driver - recently ran an article on
>>the best (weirdest, goriest) Drivers Ed Dead Kid films from the 1950s and
>>1960s. Descriptions, interesting bits about the films, some script
>>quotes, some stills.
>
> i saw those films in driver's ed - 'signal 30,' 'wheels of death,' all
> that shit, and of course laughed them off. i saw them again a few
> years later (i made an illegal u-turn on labor day or somesuch, and
> the governor decreed re-education camps for all with moving violations
> on those days). i wore the lap belt after that. my passengers'
> reactions were sometimes funny - a sidelong glance, and then maybe
> buckled up. i really didn't care whether they did or not. (this
> would have been late sixties, early seventies.)

I finally gave in and started using my belts in November 2005 when I got
my present car.

--
Blinky
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Need a new feed?
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On Sat 14 Jun 2008 09:19:41p, Blinky the Shark told us...

> blake murphy wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:57:47 -0700, Blinky the Shark
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>Serene Vannoy wrote:
>>>
>>>> T wrote:
>>>>> In article >,
>>>>> says...
>>>>
>>>>>> Having a baby costs the world these days because
>>>>>> marketing has assured us that only the most expensive
>>>>>> is "safe enough". Thus the $200 carseat that is only
>>>>>> suitable for six months and the $500 carriage and
>>>>>> $1000 crib.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hah.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yep, the gene pool is definitely getting diluted.
>>>>>
>>>>> I wonder how we did survive sans car seat, seat belt etc?
>>>>
>>>> Well, lots of us *didn't*. A lot of the current safety laws came
about
>>>> after people were maimed and killed.
>>>
>>>One of the car mags - probably Car and Driver - recently ran an article
on
>>>the best (weirdest, goriest) Drivers Ed Dead Kid films from the 1950s
and
>>>1960s. Descriptions, interesting bits about the films, some script
>>>quotes, some stills.
>>
>> i saw those films in driver's ed - 'signal 30,' 'wheels of death,' all
>> that shit, and of course laughed them off. i saw them again a few
>> years later (i made an illegal u-turn on labor day or somesuch, and
>> the governor decreed re-education camps for all with moving violations
>> on those days). i wore the lap belt after that. my passengers'
>> reactions were sometimes funny - a sidelong glance, and then maybe
>> buckled up. i really didn't care whether they did or not. (this would
>> have been late sixties, early seventies.)
>
> I finally gave in and started using my belts in November 2005 when I got
> my present car.
>

I finally started using them when I couldn't figure out how to disable the
damned alarm that kept going off when they weren't properly buckled.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Saturday, 06(VI)/14(XIV)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Today is: Flag Day
-------------------------------------------
Clark Kent is a transvestite.
-------------------------------------------

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> On Sat 14 Jun 2008 09:19:41p, Blinky the Shark told us...
>
>> blake murphy wrote:
>>
>>> On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:57:47 -0700, Blinky the Shark
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>>Serene Vannoy wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> T wrote:
>>>>>> In article >,
>>>>>> says...
>>>>>
>>>>>>> Having a baby costs the world these days because
>>>>>>> marketing has assured us that only the most expensive
>>>>>>> is "safe enough". Thus the $200 carseat that is only
>>>>>>> suitable for six months and the $500 carriage and
>>>>>>> $1000 crib.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hah.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Yep, the gene pool is definitely getting diluted.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I wonder how we did survive sans car seat, seat belt etc?
>>>>>
>>>>> Well, lots of us *didn't*. A lot of the current safety laws came
> about
>>>>> after people were maimed and killed.
>>>>
>>>>One of the car mags - probably Car and Driver - recently ran an article
> on
>>>>the best (weirdest, goriest) Drivers Ed Dead Kid films from the 1950s
> and
>>>>1960s. Descriptions, interesting bits about the films, some script
>>>>quotes, some stills.
>>>
>>> i saw those films in driver's ed - 'signal 30,' 'wheels of death,' all
>>> that shit, and of course laughed them off. i saw them again a few
>>> years later (i made an illegal u-turn on labor day or somesuch, and
>>> the governor decreed re-education camps for all with moving violations
>>> on those days). i wore the lap belt after that. my passengers'
>>> reactions were sometimes funny - a sidelong glance, and then maybe
>>> buckled up. i really didn't care whether they did or not. (this would
>>> have been late sixties, early seventies.)
>>
>> I finally gave in and started using my belts in November 2005 when I got
>> my present car.
>
> I finally started using them when I couldn't figure out how to disable the
> damned alarm that kept going off when they weren't properly buckled.

From 1983 until the end of 2005, I was driving my Triumph TR7, the belt
alarm connectors of which were wires running under the seats in plain view
there and which had been disconnected before I got the car. I don't
recall having vehicles before that with anything more than lap belts.


--
Blinky
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Need a new feed?
http://blinkynet.net/comp/newfeed.html

On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:19:41 -0700, Blinky the Shark
> wrote:

>blake murphy wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:57:47 -0700, Blinky the Shark
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>Serene Vannoy wrote:
>>>
>>>> T wrote:
>>>>> In article >,
>>>>> says...
>>>>
>>>>>> Having a baby costs the world these days because
>>>>>> marketing has assured us that only the most expensive
>>>>>> is "safe enough". Thus the $200 carseat that is only
>>>>>> suitable for six months and the $500 carriage and
>>>>>> $1000 crib.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hah.
>>>>>
>>>>> Yep, the gene pool is definitely getting diluted.
>>>>>
>>>>> I wonder how we did survive sans car seat, seat belt etc?
>>>>
>>>> Well, lots of us *didn't*. A lot of the current safety laws came about
>>>> after people were maimed and killed.
>>>
>>>One of the car mags - probably Car and Driver - recently ran an article on
>>>the best (weirdest, goriest) Drivers Ed Dead Kid films from the 1950s and
>>>1960s. Descriptions, interesting bits about the films, some script
>>>quotes, some stills.
>>
>> i saw those films in driver's ed - 'signal 30,' 'wheels of death,' all
>> that shit, and of course laughed them off. i saw them again a few
>> years later (i made an illegal u-turn on labor day or somesuch, and
>> the governor decreed re-education camps for all with moving violations
>> on those days). i wore the lap belt after that. my passengers'
>> reactions were sometimes funny - a sidelong glance, and then maybe
>> buckled up. i really didn't care whether they did or not. (this
>> would have been late sixties, early seventies.)
>
>I finally gave in and started using my belts in November 2005 when I got
>my present car.

it's just foolish not to, really. even without the various laws.

your pal,
blake