Lives don't really matter.

[Boyntonstu]

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Lives don't really matter![/font][/font]

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]About 40 years ago we were driving South on the N.J. Turnpike and besides us were 2 older folks in a sedan wearing helmets.  On closer inspection I observed rollover bars and what appeared as 5 point harnesses.  At first, I thought that it was funny.  Ignorant me.  I realized that race car drivers survive 200 MPH crashes in similarly equipped cars.  In their safety equipped sedan, the helmeted couple could survive any crash under 80 MPH.  To that couple, their lives mattered.  Do your life matter?  Such a simple and cheap solution for a life and death risk.[/font][/font]

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]In 2010, there were an estimated 5,419,000 crashes (30,296 fatal crashes), killing 32,999 and injuring 2,239,000,[2] and around 2,000 children under 16 years old die every year due to traffic collisions.[3] Records indicate that there has been a total of 3,613,732 motor vehicle fatalities in the United States from 1899 to 2013.[/font][/font]

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]58 people are shot and many more die in car accidents on the same day.[/font][/font]

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Do all lives matter?[/font][/font]

 

[John61CT]

Zoom out far enough nothing matters.

My loved ones, friends & family matter to me.

But from Gaia's POV too many humans on the planet anyway.

Would be nice if we figured out how to manage things so we could all live together in comfort and harmony with our Mother Earth and each other.

Not a technical problem, just a political-economic one.

But rationality and community interests don't run the world, corruption and greed do.

So each of us will prioritize taking care of "me and mine" for the foreseeable future, and worse, many will cling to old definitions of "us vs them".

 

[lenny flank]

We are all gonna die. Every one of us. It's just a matter of when, and what gets us.

 

[Boyntonstu]

Zoom out far enough nothing matters.

My loved ones,  friends & family matter to me.

But from Gaia's POV too many humans on the planet anyway.

Would be nice if we figured out how to manage things so we could all live together in comfort and harmony with our Mother Earth and each other.

Not a technical problem, just a political-economic one.

But rationality and community interests don't run the world, corruption and greed do.

So each of us will prioritize taking care of "me and mine" for the foreseeable future, and worse, many will cling to old definitions of "us vs them".

Zoom in.  Is our society more interested in how a car looks or how safe it can  be made?

When it is you, or a member of your family in a car accident, I believe that the zoom in to safety will be a priority.

Why does society ignore the many killed each day compared to the few kill by guns?

 

[John61CT]

"Society" is not a single entity.

Some care more than others.

Tradeoffs between money and safety surround us in nearly all products.

We accept thousands of preventable deaths per year as normal, not just cars, also from sex, guns, a huge variety of ingested substances that bring pleasure but are harmful. . .

 

[CautionToTheWind]

Why does society ignore the many killed each day compared to the few kill by guns?

Likely due to knowing history...since 1968-2015 statistics showing more killed than all U.S. wars. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/l...illed-guns-1968-all-u-s-wars-combined-n807156

 

[akrvbob]

Zoom in.  Is our society more interested in how a car looks or how safe it can  be made?

When it is you, or a member of your family in a car accident, I believe that the zoom in to safety will be a priority.

Why does society ignore the many killed each day compared to the few kill by guns?

This isn't factually true.

Today's cars are the safest they have ever been because the government hyper-regulates it and requires it and then tests to verify to see that it happens. Many people choose cars solely based on crash ratings. For years Subaru has been running ads touting their very high safety ratings (incredibly powerful ads too--every time I see their "They lived" ad I get goose chills and want to buy a Subaru). 

The one thing this country does not do is ignore highway safety--that's a silly idea.

 

[akrvbob]

This thread is about highway safety. If it veers off into gun-control or politics, it will be closed instantly and all those posts will be deleted.

I already deleted some.

 

[TMG51]

Lives don't really matter!

About 40 years ago we were driving South on the N.J. Turnpike and besides us were 2 older folks in a sedan wearing helmets.  On closer inspection I observed rollover bars and what appeared as 5 point harnesses.  At first, I thought that it was funny.  Ignorant me.  I realized that race car drivers survive 200 MPH crashes in similarly equipped cars.  In their safety equipped sedan, the helmeted couple could survive any crash under 80 MPH.  To that couple, their lives mattered.  Do your life matter?  Such a simple and cheap solution for a life and death risk.

In 2010, there were an estimated 5,419,000 crashes (30,296 fatal crashes), killing 32,999 and injuring 2,239,000,[2] and around 2,000 children under 16 years old die every year due to traffic collisions.[3] Records indicate that there has been a total of 3,613,732 motor vehicle fatalities in the United States from 1899 to 2013.

Do all lives matter?

Of course, my life matters to me; that's why I'd rather spend it living than getting into a 5-point safety harness and crash helmet every time I get into a car.

Here's a poignant song on the subject:

 

[blmkid]

[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]I close my eyes, only for a moment
And the moment's gone
All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity[/font]
[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind[/font]
[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Same old song, just a drop of water
In an endless sea
All we do crumbles to the ground
Though we refuse to see[/font]
[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind[/font]
[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Oh, ho, ho[/font]
[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Now, don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy[/font]
[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind [x2][/font]
[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]Dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind [x2]
The wind[/font]
[font=Roboto, arial, sans-serif][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.54)]Songwriters: Kerry Livgren / Kerry A Livgren
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.54)]Dust in the Wind lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC[/color][/font][/color]

 

[Boyntonstu]

Of course, my life matters to me; that's why I'd rather spend it living than getting into a 5-point safety harness and crash helmet every time I get into a car.

Here's a poignant song on the subject:

My cousin owns a 87 Buick grand national with 19 pounds of boost; a 10 second car.

He drives on the road as he does at the drag strip.

He doesn't worry about crashes in his setup.

 

[VanKitten]

I honestly believe that the mass extinction already underway will take our species along with all the rest.

The little issues that seem to be so big.....Just a case of selective blindness.

To go in a crash might not be the worst possible ending for the individual.

 

[Boyntonstu]

I honestly believe that the mass extinction already underway will take our species along with all the rest.

The little issues that seem to be so big.....Just a case of selective blindness.

To go in a crash might not be the worst possible ending for the individual.

End of life is one thing, loss of limbs, blindness,  or paralysis is another.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

If everyone were to focus all their time on not dying, would they ever be living?

 

[TrainChaser]

Lenny: "We are all gonna die. Every one of us. It's just a matter of when, and what gets us."

Yes, but it's better if you don't volunteer ahead of time.

 

[John61CT]

For some it's better if you do

 

[Boyntonstu]

If everyone were to focus all their time on not dying, would they ever be living?

Completely ignoring safety is not living, it is existing.

 

[lenny flank]

Lenny:  "We are all gonna die. Every one of us. It's just a matter of when, and what gets us."

Yes, but it's better if you don't volunteer ahead of time.

Sadly, reality will not ask one's permission ahead of time......

When the time comes,. none of us will have any say in the matter.

:angel: