HYDRAULIKPRESSE October 2010, english issue - Hansa Flex

Work & liFe the seatBelt
BUcKLe UP For saFetY
seatBelts increase chances of survival enorMously
it was a frenchman, gustave-désiré leveau, who
first applied for a patent for a four-point seatbelt.
that was in 1903. louis renault followed his example
the same year and obtained a patent for the fivepoint
seatbelt, and it was from this prototype that
volvo developed the three-point belt that is in most
common use today. starting in 1959, seatbelts were
standard equipment in all saab and volvo vehicles.
When the german federal government made it mandatory
to wear seatbelts – although no penalties
were imposed for disobedience – the law met with
intense opposition from some drivers. it was another
eight years before failure to wear a seatbelt became
punishable with a fine of 40 dM. compliance then
rose immediately from 60 to 90%. and yet, seatbelts
are the single most important safety mechanism in
the interior of the vehicle, as is attested by the dramatic
decline in fatalities immediately after wearing
seatbelts became mandatory. By wearing their seatbelts,
car drivers increase their chances of surviving
an accident by 45%. statistics show that almost 50%
of those who die in traffic accidents were not wearing
a seatbelt. 8% were driving cars that were not
fitted with them, or were exempt from wearing one,
in a further 16% of cases, it was no longer possible
to determine whether they were wearing one or not.
only 35% of people who were killed in car accidents
were properly belted. as a rule: everyone must wear
a seatbelt. But it is the exceptions that prove the rule.
When driving at walking pace, reversing, and driving
from one house to the house next door, drivers in
germany are not obliged to wear a seatbelt.
saFety First
But anyone who is driving in normal traffic on the road
without wearing a seatbelt is liable to receive a fine of
30 euros. people who make their child wear a seatbelt
but do not use a child safety seat will also have to pay
30 euros. if the violation concerns several children, the
fine is 35 euros. in flensburg, drivers who are irresponsible
enough not to secure their children in any way,
receive a fine of at least 40 euros and one point on
their driving licence. generally, the driver is responsible
for ensuring that his passengers are safely buckled
in. it is also the driver who is penalised if his passengers
do not comply. in germany, men are found not
wearing seatbelts noticeably more often than women,
and older people seem to place greater value on
safety than younger people. those who believe that
the kinetic energy produced when driving slowly can
be absorbed by the arms should take note: at speeds
photo: Julia ahlers
photo: Julia ahlers
barely above walking pace, this is not possible without
injury. and open fractures of the elbows are not
pretty, they are excruciatingly painful, and they take
a long time to heal. furthermore, the compensation
that might be payable by an insurance company in the
event of an accident can be significantly reduced if the
insured person is not wearing a seatbelt. for all these
reasons: Buckle up, and drive carefully.
aCCordiNG to statistiCs, the seatbelt increases drivers’
chances of surviving a traffic accident by 45%.
12 hansa-fleX Customers magazine