29/06/2012
Airbag seatbelts from Ford
Having airbags for the front passenger and driver is all very well and good, but what about the backseat passengers?
It’s quite rare, in my opinion, to have any safety equipment ready to leap into action to save backseaters from injury in a collision.
Well, next year Ford will be offering inflatable seatbelts for backseat passengers as an extra – which will probably cost around £250.
Initially the belts will be available only in the Mondeo, but the company plans on having it available in all of their family cars eventually.
The seatbelts, which will act as airbags for anyone in the rear of the vehicle, are safe for use with a booster seat and wil fully inflate in 40 milliseconds.
Hopefully this will lead to a reduction in the number of whiplash, back and head injuries suffered annually in the UK.
The inflatable belts have already been available to the American public since late last year, and apparently the company states that so far 40% of customers have elected to have the safety extra.
I’m not surprised! Changing the paintwork colour of a Ford Mondeo can cost anything from £200 to £545 – with that in mind £250 for something which will protect someone from suffering harm in a crash is a very good price!
It’s quite rare, in my opinion, to have any safety equipment ready to leap into action to save backseaters from injury in a collision. Well, next year Ford will be offering inflatable seatbelts for backseat passengers as an extra – which will probably cost around £250.
Initially the belts will be available only in the Mondeo, but the company plans on having it available in all of their family cars eventually.
The seatbelts, which will act as airbags for anyone in the rear of the vehicle, are safe for use with a booster seat and wil fully inflate in 40 milliseconds.
Hopefully this will lead to a reduction in the number of whiplash, back and head injuries suffered annually in the UK.
The inflatable belts have already been available to the American public since late last year, and apparently the company states that so far 40% of customers have elected to have the safety extra.
I’m not surprised! Changing the paintwork colour of a Ford Mondeo can cost anything from £200 to £545 – with that in mind £250 for something which will protect someone from suffering harm in a crash is a very good price!
Photo © Criterion via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: air bag, backseat, crash, driver, Ford, inflatable seatbelt, injuries, passenger, safe, vehicle, whiplash
27/02/2012
Law-breaking clampers sent to jail
The stereotype of the disrespectful, power-abusing traffic warden is well known to members of the British motoring public. However, the illegal behaviour of a group of Worcestershire wheel clampers would have been enough to place most drivers into a state of temporary shock.
Apparently, the crooks deliberately targeted and acted aggressively towards vehicle owners who they deemed to be vulnerable. Both elderly and female drivers were hit with extortionate parking fines of up to £335.
A driver from Malvern said, “I felt that if the clampers had held a gun to my head and taken the money I couldn't have felt any worse. I felt angry, traumatised and emotional. I felt I had been robbed.”
There was some solace for the victims of the car park crime, as each of the clampers was sent to jail for between 12 and 32 months. The relief that the prosecution must have felt upon the issuing of these sentences can only be imagined.
The judge said, “What of course is wholly wrong is the use of enforcement measures to provide a service to help traders and others suffering from illegally parked cars, but to use the company as a vehicle to obtain money dishonestly from the public by blatant use of authority and power.”
Those people who are interested in the laws of motoring will now be waiting to see what happens in the case of potentially fraudulent whiplash claims, which have been the focus of media attention recently.
Apparently, the crooks deliberately targeted and acted aggressively towards vehicle owners who they deemed to be vulnerable. Both elderly and female drivers were hit with extortionate parking fines of up to £335.A driver from Malvern said, “I felt that if the clampers had held a gun to my head and taken the money I couldn't have felt any worse. I felt angry, traumatised and emotional. I felt I had been robbed.”
There was some solace for the victims of the car park crime, as each of the clampers was sent to jail for between 12 and 32 months. The relief that the prosecution must have felt upon the issuing of these sentences can only be imagined.
The judge said, “What of course is wholly wrong is the use of enforcement measures to provide a service to help traders and others suffering from illegally parked cars, but to use the company as a vehicle to obtain money dishonestly from the public by blatant use of authority and power.”
Those people who are interested in the laws of motoring will now be waiting to see what happens in the case of potentially fraudulent whiplash claims, which have been the focus of media attention recently.
Photo © ecastro via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: car park, claims, clampers, crime, drivers, illegal, motoring, parking fines, traffic warden, vehicle owners, wheel, whiplash
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