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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!floyd!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!ubc-visi!alberta!auvax!martin
From: martin@auvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Airbags (occupant compression)
Message-ID: <154@auvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Jul-83 18:10:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: auvax.154
Posted: Tue Jul  5 18:10:00 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Jul-83 19:50:54 EDT
Lines: 26


	The articles I've been reading so far on the subject of airbags 
	indicate that a lap belt must be worn to ensure that 'submarineing'
	doesn't occur.

	I have not had any actual experience with airbags, however having
	worked as an Emergency Medical Technition out of a small town, I've
	seen my share of accidents that occur at highway speeds (100KPH).

	One which may relate to this topic is where a driver fell asleep
	at the wheel (I thi (he couldn't talk too well)) and drove head on
	into a loaded tandem dump truck.  The '63 chevelle sedan which is not
	a small car was shall we say written off.  It took the use of a
	come-along to get the steering wheel off of the driver.  The 
	interesting part (?) was how the driver had completly submarined under
	the dash with the front seat moving completley forward.
	
	Move the front seat of your car completely forward and try to fit your
	entire body in front of it under the dash sometime.

	The whole point is that proper use of shoulder/lap belts would in all
	probability have either saved this person or at least allowed us to
	get him out and to a Hospital before he expired.

						Don Martin
						Athabasca University