89magic98

I would love to have a look at the street where the accident occurred.

Don't the two people killed have any responsibility to look both ways before pulling out of their driveway?

Even driving on the highway, a lot of people change lanes because there is enough room for their car NOW, and don't look at how fast the opening is closing up. It's like taking a charge in the NBA - if I can get my body in place just in time, then it's not my fault when I get run over by the other player.

I always try to look twice when changing lanes, crossing an intersection, etc.

The "data recorder" feature is a bunch of BS.

Are you tampering with the car or voiding your warranty by erasing the data on the recorder, or by somehow disabling it?

TonyG

89magic98

This isn't about the people killed. Yes it's sad, but my point about this post wan't about them, or the driver.

It was simply about that fact that aspects of your driving habits/actions are being recorded, and can, and obviously will, be used against you in a court of law.

That's it.

MichelleJD

What's the Ben Franklin quote? Something like, "Those willing to give up liberty for safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

PrerYDoG

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety

badcoupe

Not voiding any warranty etc by erasing data only by removing said equipment. It's a necessity to clear such info after a repair is made anyway to restart the drive cycle and confirm your repair

alkemyst

The worse airbag accident I have seen was a lady that crashed into a parking lot column firing her airbag. She had a charm necklace of some sort that slit her throat...she ended up living, but she was in intensive care for a while and pretty scarred.

nove442002

Hmm , can anyone tell me if u have airbags, and u have a kid in the front seat, say under 11 years old, if u have the seat all the way back and a booster seat so the belt is on properly,would that still be dangerous? I thought it would not contact the childs face on my 951 as the seat goes back pretty far. This has me concerned!!
PS my car is 15 years old, I wonder if I should have them disconnected or removed.

James86-951

The airbags do have a limited life. The original airbag equipped cars, Mercedes, had a sticker on the B-pillar post stating the date the module had to be replaced. Yes, it is a gun powder operated mechanism and it does become unstable. (Just like the seat belt tensioners.)

The original airbags outfitted in these cars is much stronger than newer models. They were originally designed to stop a 175lb man without a seatbelt.

Gm is the original automotive BIG BROTHER. Not to mention the internet these days!!

Danno

"Don't the two people killed have any responsibility to look both ways before pulling out of their driveway?"

Yes! Under Calif. law, pedestrians only have the right of way (1) at an intersection, (2) between the walkway lines, (3) with the light in their favor. Unless all three of these conditions are met, you the driver actually have the right-of-way and only have to make a "reasonable" effort to avoid them. That then really comes down to the jury's impression of "reasonable". Did you swerve one lane to avoide them? Did you sideswipe a parked car? Did you swerve all the way onto the sidewall and take out a little old lady? It's great to have a good attorney on your side.

All that can be nullified if there is additional info introduced that indicates some doubt. Such as hard-data recorded from the accident. Now the data doesn't lie, but it can be mis-interpreted and twisted by attorneys to make you look bad. It wouldn't take much more to add 5-years of memory to those boxes rather than just 5-seconds. I bet it's already in there and with the right probes, you can extract it. How would you like it if you automatically got a speeding ticket each time you exceeded the posted speed limit?

wjk_glynn

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by SimonK:
<strong>Well guys the future is not bright. It is happening the big brother is watching us and it will get worse believe me...</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Hi Simon,

Is it true that in the UK, insurance companies offer price breaks to folks who install a GPS tracking device that can monitor speeding violations against a built in database (or some such thing)? If they agree to the device and stay within the limits, they get a price break?

Karl.

nove442002

Thanks ,for info on airbags James. I was thinking I should have mine removed,as my car is 15 years old and I drive with my kid in car at times, he is only six. I have the seat as far back as it will go , but I wonder about airbags.

pig4bill

I saw on Auto Motor Und Sport today "they" are pushing hard to make this sort of device mandatory in Europe. So far, Germany has told them to go **** up a rope.

rhesus

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by 89magic98:
<strong>Don't the two people killed have any responsibility to look both ways before pulling out of their driveway?

Even driving on the highway, a lot of people change lanes because there is enough room for their car NOW, and don't look at how fast the opening is closing up. It's like taking a charge in the NBA - if I can get my body in place just in time, then it's not my fault when I get run over by the other player.

I always try to look twice when changing lanes, crossing an intersection, etc.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Don't you think the fact that the driver was going 4 times the speed limit has anything to do with it? I mean, that's 167 feet per second... taking him roughly 1.79 seconds to cover the distance of a football field. How far ahead do you really get to look in a 30 mph zone?

87951CJN

Unfoturnately as driving or operating a car is a governmentally regulated and controlled activity (privilige not a right), I do not think anyone in the United States is entitled any right to privacy while operating their vehicle. But I could be incorrect.

Bill

I do see the insurance industry pushing for this. They are the best at using "SAFETY" to get into your back pocket. Just imagine having to submit "flight recorder" information to your carrier every month for "rate reassesment" <img border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" title="" src="graemlins/cussing.gif" />

If this were to come into play, we would all have to persuade Danno into making a piggyback black box controller.