Tony,
I bought mine 3 weeks ago..., the same day the report went out on the offset
crash test (not mandatory from the feds). I guess what Im really trying to
say is that when you're tooling along @ 70 mph in 2 tons of steel you are
NOT SAFE in any current production vehicle, no matter what type of modern
safety devices you have. Yes, Indy cars and Stock cars etc. are equipped
with enough "stuff" to protect drivers at much higher speeds, but it is not
affordable. Design compromises are made daily based on public wants. The
Bricklin safety car went over like a lead balloon on the US market. No
safety equipement can take responsibility for an accident or the
repercussions, unless say you were run off the road by a misdeployed airbag
(they scare the hell out of me, Id turn mine off if I could) but thats
another topic for discussion. You nailed the main problem on the head, we
still buy these things, even though we are informed about the safety
"problem"! I guess that means that the public's priority is not on safety,
but on other things like style, horsepower, fun etc, ( just where it should
be IMHO) Even mercedes drivers die behind the wheel (a widely publicized
case occurred recently I think...) Id take the train if I was really
paranoid (I have a friend that doesnt drive anymore and takes the train for
that reason) Oh, wait, didnt a few people die (100+) in a train accident in
Europe just recently?? HMMM.
Sometimes we do make decisions based on safety, I sold my wife's 83 civic
since it was a tin can waiting to be crushed, with her in it. Then again,
somebody bought it..."Compaqs" case is a little different since he thought
the belts would keep him "safe". Id sure like to know if they failed.
May I suggest a letter writing campaign instead of a law suite?
BKB
At 01:48 PM 6/4/98 -0800, you wrote:
>>Tony,
>>I was aware of the crash test results when I bought my Dakota. I assume
>>most potential owners check this stuff out prior to making a purchase.
>
>The crash tests I'm refering to were published only last month by the
>Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. I am unaware as to whether Chrysler
>publishes the results of its in-house crash tests and I've never seen any
>others that the Dakota was invloved in. I doubt they would have swayed my
>decision to buy a Dak anyhow (who knows though?) Personally I don't see
>myself suing CC if I do sustain a head injury in my truck (because I'm
>aware of the potential), my point is that without some sort of incentive
>they will never fix what is a fixable problem.
>
>Tony J. Mastres
>Photographer
>Photographic Services __
>1120 Kerr HAll UCSB []_.-' (Q,___\
>Mastres@id.ucsb.edu *******`(o) >>>}__(o)s>
>
>
>
>
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