You don't need to wear a seat belt if you're traveling at a low speed, right? Wrong. The Convincer, a safety demonstration tool owned by the Connecticut State Police, shows why. Strap in and experience a 5 MPH crash. Feel your chest slam against the seat belt. That hurts, doesn't it? Now imagine if that wasn't your chest hitting the seat belt, but your face hitting the windshield.
That's why you wear a seat belt. When the State Police set up The Convincer at the University of Hartford, they were very convincing.
They also had a car rollover simulator, which looks fun!
-via Twisted Sifter
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We had a 5 MPH crash simulator at my school in 1976, when I was learning to drive. It was a good tool. Does this post mean that it was discontinued, or just that a new generation is now using it?
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They used to, when I was young. Cutbacks. And even before they did away with the classes completely, they couldn't teach enough classes to accommodate all the students that wanted in, thanks to insurance discounts. When I was in high school, good grades got a bigger discount than Driver's Ed, so I didn't bother taking it.
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That's kinda unfortunate. I was getting my license right around the time that the state I was in about 20 years ago started making Driver's Ed mandatory for the Driver's License. I'm surprised to hear that all this time later there are still places that don't do that.
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Ha! The high school here does not offer driver's ed. Neither do any of the other schools around here.
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I got hit in the side of the car once by a vehicle that just pulled out and probably wasn't even going five MPH. The car was hurt pretty badly, we were spun around, but no injuries. We were all belted. My two-year-old in the back could have been dashed against the interior badly if she weren't in her car seat. That really brought the value of restraints home to me.
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