I remember my father objecting intensely when wearing safety belts became mandatory in the early sixties. He said that it would create a new sense of security and make people drive more reckless, creating more accidents. So the "dumbing down" argument has been heard before. Anybody agree with my father's opinion today?
Your Dad sounds like a wise man. In the bike world we always used to be very wary of Volvos - the owners were so well protected they were often less careful with their driving. I wonder if they had to introduce airbags as the number of accidents were increasing when people put seatbelts on.....
My point here is was he right when he postulated "creating more accidents"? Or injuries/deaths, if you like? From experience, which is best/safest - with or without safety belt? And also from experience, what group suffers more injuries using chain saws? With or without safety equipment? Crash helmets on a bike? Hard hats on a construction site? Protection gloves? Do you think we should discard safety devices in order to get less accidents? Do we have any historical proof of possible benefits of such a theory?
Robbie the Norseman 2004 V6 Roadster Sherwood green
