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| *Vultures Knob>>>Bike Helmet |
Can you imagine? No seat belts in cars? No bicycle helmets? No food police? No 55 MPH speed limit? |
...among other things, and yet we (at least some of us) survived. How? I have no idea. When I was 4 years old, I remember sitting between my parents in the front seat of their convertible (a 12 cylinder Lincon Zephyr} as we drove in the middle of the night to a beach in Florida. I sat on a little box so that I could see outside the car. No seat belts and a hard metal dashboard were standard then, but we never had an accident. Remembering the "Good Old days"? No cell phones. No color TV (in fact, sometimes there was NO TV). Murray the K and Submarine Race Watching. Cousin Brucie (Morrow) and his fixation with the Beatles. Brylcreem and Ipana. Homework and book reports. Waiting for October to see all the new cars for the next year. Having to be home by 9:00 pm on a school night with 10:00 pm curfew on Friday and Saturday. Never missing Mass on Sunday and Confession on Saturday. Peg pants and/or bluejeans with cuffs. A pack of Camels rolled into your left sleeve (but removed before you got home, because your parents - even though they smoked - didn't approve of YOUR smoking). Sock hops and the Lindy. The Twist, Frug, Swim and Monkey. High School proms. First dates and kisses (never mind that all your friends went "all the way" - good girls don't do THAT! Or was that "Nice" girls don't?). Trick or Treating after dark without having to worry about some degenerate or crazy sneaking up on you and kidnapping you - or worse and/or apples with razor blades. Christmas stockings. Easter candy (with the ears still on the bunny!). The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Rin Tin Tin, and Sky King. Yes, I agree - those were the "Good Old days". Thanks for the memories (Bob Hope!) Yea it was a cool time. How did we survive? There were a lot fewer cars on the road back then, our road congestion has had a lot to do with the need for safety equipment. I knew you never had an accident - because if you had under the conditions you described - you wouldn't be here to post this question! The good old days! It's one thing for people to espouse "personal responsibility" and object to seat belts, bike helmets and other safety precautions. But those same people want the government to take care of all their needs when they or their kids get injured. Who should pay for the EMT's and trauma centers for the uninsured injured? Who should pay for their recuperation or disabilities? Who should pay for life-long care of seriously brain injured? What about children who should lack the maturity to use all the proper safety equipment? Since kids learn by example, what example will they follow when their parents don't wear seat belts? When people raise the personal responsibility issue and demand to be treated as adults, they should not expect taxpayers to care for the tragic consequences of their foolish behavior when they get in trouble. If you want to relive the 'good old days' with no safety equipment, you can always restore a 1950's era car with none of those features and drive to your heart's content. But you won't have the ABS brake system, side crash barriers in the doors, crumple zones, airbags, radial tires, and all the other modern safety features. And you will have a carburetor that needs frequent adjustment, points that need to be replaced and adjust the distributor timing every 12 months or 12, 000 miles. Been there, done that. No thanks. Metal dash...no collapsible steering wheel...single hydraulic brake cylinder...lap belts...vacuum operated windshield wipers that froze in the middle of the windshield when accelerated...3 on the tree that had to be double clutched and speed matched for the gears. a 292 V8 with mechanical lifters that had to be manually adjusted to the cam...a DC generator that didnt charge at idle...carbs...points...and nylon bias tires...well at least it had safety glass with side wing windows. yes, a different time...lucky i never had an accident either. I think you've died and went to heaven. Be sure to write. Times have changed: Driver's attitudes have changed: The inexperienced are yet to learn: Then there is the driver who drives to conserve fuel, wear and tear Your own body is like a vehicle, would you mistreat it? |
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