5'er vs. motorhome

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Personal safety is a personal choice... Public safety is not. It is as simple as that. If a guy wants to work on his roof at home without the benefit and wisdom of adequate fall protection that is his choice...as thoughtless as the decision may be. If that same person walks onto my job site without adequate personal protection (that I provided, minus clothing and work boots) then that person is going home without pay.

Safety is everyone's business, and the recklessness of one person can effect the safety of many. Would you tow your toad without the benefit of a break-away safety switch...I think not. But the same person would allow their children to ride unrestrained. Mind boggling if you ask me.

Talk about thread drift...
 
Mike:
I have a great story about fall protection gear.
I worked in the electric sign industry in the L.A city area for 35 years.

On one job site we were putting up a bank sign on the bottom floor of a downtown 37 floor building (roughly 370 ft.) and we were just using ladders to do it.  An all knowing city inspector came along and saw us working, he tells us that we need to put safety lines down from the top of the building and hook up our safety belts in case we fall.

I asked him if he thought that 350 foot nylon safety line wasn't going to stretch the last 20 foot we had left until we hit the ground ?......... He said that it was the law that we have fall protection gear on.

really?    shouldn't common sense trump blanket safety rules.

 
rebelsun said:
No.
None of us get out of this life alive!
Click to expand...

so my point is...it would be like telling a elderly grandmother that she can not unbuckle her seat belt in a motorhome and go back to the bathroom to piddle just because there's a mandatory seat belt law to protect her safety if you are in an accident.......

don't live your whole life in "what if fear"..... live life, and enjoy life, and enjoy your RV for what it is...a house on wheels.

what if an asteroid hits the earth tomorrow ? so now you're going to ruin what may be the last day you're alive worrying about it?
 
When my kids were little (late 60s and early 70s) we had a Ford window van...and four young boys.  It had seat beats, but they were seldom used and I had removed the extreme rear seat in lieu of "playground" space where Hot Wheels and Legos ruled.  It wasn't long before the boys found they could pee out the bolt holes left in the floor from the seat removal.  No longer did they have to be concerned with not spilling the "yellow pop bottle".  They may have been less safe, but they were entertained and we did not have to make frequent poddy breaks alongside the road.  Those boys are still around, but belted in these days.  So are their kids and so am I.  Because of the law to begin with, but I'll have to admit I feel naked without my seatbelt now.  I consider it a good habit.  But, point being, folks survived without seatbelts for a lot of years.  It may not be prudent to ride without them when available, but slowing down and driving safely will get you there far more safely than rushing with seatbelts and padded dashes and crumple zones and guardrails and radar operated brakes and lane drift warnings and...
 
TonyDtorch said:
.it's like telling a elderly grandmother that she can't unbuckle her seat belt in a motorhome and go back to use the bathroom because there's a law designed to protect her safety,  it might needlessly cut her 70+ year old life short if we're in an accident.......

don't just survive life..... live it, and enjoy it.
Click to expand...

I agree...live life and enjoy it.  but would it really kill you to pull over so granny can take a leak in relative safety? 


Molaker said:
When my kids were little (late 60s and early 70s) we had a Ford window van...and four young boys.  It had seat beats, but they were seldom used and I had removed the extreme rear seat in lieu of "playground" space where Hot Wheels and Legos ruled.  It wasn't long before the boys found they could pee out the bolt holes left in the floor from the seat removal.  No longer did they have to be concerned with not spilling the "yellow pop bottle".  They may have been less safe, but they were entertained and we did not have to make frequent poddy breaks alongside the road.  Those boys are still around, but belted in these days.  So are their kids and so am I.  Because of the law to begin with, but I'll have to admit I feel naked without my seatbelt now.  I consider it a good habit.  But, point being, folks survived without seatbelts for a lot of years.  It may not be prudent to ride without them when available, but slowing down and driving safely will get you there far more safely than rushing with seatbelts and padded dashes and crumple zones and guardrails and radar operated brakes and lane drift warnings and...
Click to expand...

We used to ride in the back of the pickup when we were kids.  Sometimes out on the highway.....nobody ever thought a thing about it......
 
Frizlefrak said:
We used to ride in the back of the pickup when we were kids.  Sometimes out on the highway.....nobody ever thought a thing about it......
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I thought everyone rode in the back of a pickup some time or the other...standing up looking over the cab catching bugs in your teeth.  But, did you ever ride straddling a headlight?  Now that was a rush.  Admittedly, Daddy didn't take us down the highway like that, but we did a few backroads with the wind whipping.  Then there were running boards.  Ah yes, we could ride like the cops in the movies, hanging on to the mirror or doorpost while blasting away with our cap pistols.  Woo hoo!
 
is surviving life, really the same as living life ?
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Gosh, this sounds like you're saying you can't really live life until you gone without a helmet or seat belt. Really? That's all it takes?

Honestly, wearing a helmet or a seat belt doesn't really confine you (unless its in a Ford, their seat belts will strangle a person). You can still do the wild crazy things you do on motorcycles and in cars or speedboats or whatever. Even race car drivers wear helmets and seat belts. Are they just surviving?

For what its worth, Im not afraid of motorcycles, snowmobiles, speed boats or horses or anything else. I can drive down the road and enjoy it just as much wearing a seat belt as not. If I don't have an accident, no harm no foul, I still have a blast. However, in the event that I am in an accident, I will be glad to have been wearing a seat belt.

If there is any doubt that all these safety rules being imposed are nothing but an infringement of your rights,,, if you look at the numbers on this table, http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/1037_fatal_motor_vehicle_accidents_national_summary.html, its pretty obvious they are doing some good.



Caryl


 
Wow...this thread has really gone off the rails... :eek:

Anyway...as for seat belts...I started using them in the early 1970's...long before they were required by law...my rig doesn't move if you're not belted in...or you GTFO!

It's sad that "teh ebil gubmint" has to pass laws to protect us from our own stupidity...but unfortunately, there seem to be too many people who actually ARE too stupid to do those things without having to be told.

Law or not, you CAN drive down the road without using seat belts...there's no kind of "ignition interlock" that will prevent your car/truck/motorhome from starting and running if the seat belts aren't connected...and it's easy enough to "fool" the annoying warning chime...but why would you?
Far too many accidents are caused by someone else...and there's not a damned thing you can do to drive for them...only do whatever you can to protect yourself from them."Defensive driving" is a good start...but it only goes so far. None of us want to sit at home on the couch...after all, SkyLab could come crashing down into our living room... :p
 
cadee2c said:
Gosh, this sounds like you're saying you can't really live life until you gone without a helmet or seat belt. Really? That's all it takes?

Caryl
Click to expand...

yes Caryl, that's kinda it.
I believe........you actually need to stop being afraid to die... to live. 

Hemingway said it this way..... ?Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.?

it's ok to get up in that motorhome and go back to use the restroom or make a snack...chances are you're not going to get into a horrific accident that day, chances are not going to die that day.

enjoy that motorhome for what it allows you to do, enjoy that days journey,........... and enjoy every day.

I don't mean to upset anyone....some people may understand this,  others won't.. but it's all ok.
 
I'm not afraid of dying. I'm just having a really good time living. And if wearing a helmet or a seat belt means I get to live more days and have more fun, then so be it. My point was that if what you are doing is so boring that the only excitement you get out of it is to go without a helmet or seat belt, then try different activities.... try some of these..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-eN7gVEzq8  ;D
 
you send me a list of injuries related to seat belts...

so here is my list to you, this may scare you you into wearing a helmet when you drive your car now...

as per...http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html

Among all age groups, motor vehicle crashes were the third overall leading cause of TBI (14%).  When looking at just TBI-related deaths, motor vehicle crashes were the second leading cause of TBI-related deaths (26%) for 2006?2010.
 
I think you missed where I mentioned I work in a program for people with brain injuries. I know those stats. I also see the real people behind those stats and what their lives are like now. That's why I do wear helmets and seat belts.

The previous was a list of all motor vehicle deaths for that 10 year period... which I used to show just how many people every year did die in crashes. Those aren't small numbers. There are a lot. However, here is a link to the seat belt statistics.... http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/facts.html

and if you look at that page, where it says who is the least likely to wear seat belts, then go back to the brain injury page and find the group that has the highest number of new brain injuries, you will see a correlation. I realize that correlation does not mean causation, but the connection is obvious.
 
Maybe you should be wearing your helmet everywhere, because 40% of all TBI injuries are just falls...and only 14% are vehicular related.

enjoy life.
 
Wow! I cannot believe I just read this whole thread. There's 15 minutes of my life I'm never getting back.  ::)
 
gbdave said:
Wow! I cannot believe I just read this whole thread. There's 15 minutes of my life I'm never getting back.  ::)
Click to expand...

Go read the last Wal-Mart bashing thread....you'll lose another 15 with no apparent gain....LOL
 
Hmm ...anyone notice the price of soy beans on the local market ??    ;D
 
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