487
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago

Did anything have a seatbelt in 1944?

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Volvo filed a patent for some sort of seatbelt in 1889. SAAB became the first car company to make any sort of seatbelt standard in 1958. Volvo became the first car company to install modern 3 point belts as standard equipment in 1959.

So yes, but actually probably not.

[-] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

So a patent existed prior, but that doesn't mean they were made. SAAB made them standard 14 years after this car. Do with no other data, I'd say no and no.

Edit: just realized that reads like I'm being pissy, but that wasn't the tone my finger was swiping with. Thanks for the data!

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

Well the key word there is standard. I'm guessing that seatbelts were optional equipment prior to that, because I have seen a '50 SAAB 92 that had a driver's side lap belt, which I believe was original equipment. I have also seen a '45 Chevy truck that also had a lap belt, but I'm unsure if that was original equipment.

That's why I said yes, but probably not.

[-] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Got it, thanks

[-] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

I think the popular argument against seatbelts was a long the lines of ~~guns~~ cars don't kill people, reckless drivers kill people. Which, I guess, is the same argument that we use for anything that's a bad idea for society as a whole, but is lucrative.

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

Gotta love those safety conscious Swedes showing the rest of the world how it's done 😁❤️

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I never owned a GM SAAB, and I still refuse to buy anything GM because of what they did to SAAB. I had 5 of the '80s models, and a '90.

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

SAAB is GM-owned now?? Since when?

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

1992 till they closed in 2011, iirc

[-] WhatYouNeed@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago
[-] e8d79@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 2 weeks ago

I like it. Why live with potentially life changing injuries, when you can simply have your neck broken by your seatbelt instead.

[-] BenLeMan@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

NO SHOT. That's a joke, right?

[-] WhatYouNeed@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

Unsurprisingly it was not a successful prototype.

Still, better to have an instantaneous snapped neck/ decapitated than to be speared through the chest by the steering column.

[-] teamevil@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago
[-] BenLeMan@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago

No, that was before Ralph Nader made a whole ruckus about car safety (and rightly so). Still, we're looking at this from the year 2024 so you can really tell this vehicle doesn't make sense in our time.

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I sometimes think about Ralph Nader, and the overall balance sheet of lives he is directly responsible for saving, vs lives that he is (I guess indirectly) responsible for ruining and/or ending due to spoiling the 2000 election.

Interesting thought experiment. I guess.

[-] i_dont_want_to@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago

I admire the hell out of him, even if I resent what happened in the 2000 election. He really did stand for what he believed in.

[-] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago

Velomobiles are a modern thing. Speed records are over 80kmh from human power only, but ebike motors can achieve that easily.

While most are not this "delta trike" format, and instead have 2 wheels in front, the stability is not crazy bad for deltas. Most are weather proof.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Preston Tucker designed his Tucker Torpedo with a safety belt (and a lot of other safety features) in 1948.

And then was driven out of business by the Big Three automakers in the U.S.

There's a good movie about it.

this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2024
487 points (99.2% liked)

micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

2395 readers
98 users here now

Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

Feel free to also check out

!utilitycycling@slrpnk.net

!bikewrench@lemmy.world

!bikecommuting@lemmy.world

!bikepacking@lemmy.world

!electricbikes@lemmy.world

!bicycle_touring@lemmy.world

!notjustbikes@feddit.nl

!longboard@lemmy.world

It's a little sad that we need to actually say this, but:

Don't be an asshole or you will be permanently banned.

Respectful debate is totally OK, criticizing a product is fine, but being verbally abusive will not be tolerated.

Focus on discussing the idea, not attacking the person.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS