Offroading in a Lexus

I want to talk to you guys about automobile safety-- and the joke it has become.

It seems to me that the automobile manufacturers have lost their way. In the interest of selling more cars-- by promoting their safety enhancements-- they are putting us in more danger. It is simply a case of not thinking it through.

I have at least three examples... maybe more... we'll see how long-winded I get tonight.

1. Headlights. Look at the headlights of any car built before 1995. Do the lights seem dimmer? Perhaps have the slightest hint of yellow in them? They should. Because that was how they were designed. And that tint in itself was a safety feature. Headlights were tinted yellow (slightly) to diffuse the light, to prevent blinding other drivers while passing. This is also the reason that the left headlight of your car is angled slightly towards the middle of your car. Now, with these white lights on the car (presumably so you can see better while driving down dark streets), you are putting yourself in more danger. If you are blinding the driver of an oncoming car, everyone is in danger. The driver can't see where on the road he is, or may fear he is closer to the centerline that he is, veering off into another lane, or of the road completely. Do you feel safe when passing another car? I sure as hell don't.

2. Quiet Cabs. This one, I love. A couple years ago, a truck commercial was attempting to show how quiet their cabs were. They had this managerie of sound: jackhammers, diesel engines, sirens, train horns, marching bands, just about anything loud. Did you hear it? (Bad question). Did you see it? SIRENS AND TRAIN HORNS. What the fuck are the manufacturers thinking? Sirens? Where do you find sirens? On emergency vehicles-- you know: police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. What is the purpose of a siren? Sirens have the same purpose as train horns-- to get your attention. A train horn and sometimes a siren tell you to get out of the way. Sometimes a siren is for you to realize that the cop you blew by 3 miles ago has caught up to you and wants you to pull over. And we know you're too busy flipping somebody off, or fixing your hair, or changing radio stations to look in your mirrors to notice the pretty flashing lights behind you. I'm so sorry if a siren interupts your cell phone conversation, but those are things that NEED to be heard.

3. Airbags. OK, this one is more an individual thing. Always, controversial, diesigned to help, but I don't see it. I understand the point of making a softer surface your you to strike when you get into a wreck. But this is also why you no longer see hard plastic dashboards. Feel your dashboard, it's a soft surface-- still solidly built, but somewhat coushy. But here's the thing. If I get into a wreck, my car is probably going to come to a dead stop, and I am not. Yes, I will be moving forward at the same rate of speed my car WAS. And if my three-point seat belt somehow fails to stop me (yes, airbags DO NOT replace wearing seatbelts), I'm willing to take my chances with the steering column of my car. The steering column is apt to colapse, or at least give a little when my 200+ pounds get to it. I really don't like the idea of something flying back at me at over 200 miles per hour. No matter how soft of a surface it is, it's hurts when it comes back. And ask anyone who has been in a wreck with airbags deployed, those airbags give you something similar to a rug burn, but worse. Just seems like common sense to me to want to run into something that is likely to be going in the same direction as me, when I hit it-- makes for a softer impact. Think of it this way-- in a head-on collision there are really three head on collisions taking place. The car striking the other car, the driver striking the airbag, and your internal organs striking the front of your chest cavity. Pretty scary, eh?

I'm sure there are a few others that I haven't touched on. If you have a few, please mention them. I'm not much for televisions or monitors in cars. I know TVs aren't a safety feature, but still an issue-- wouldn't you be tempted to see what was on the screen, and not what in front of you?

I swear, either we have forgotten why things are they way they are-- or what is cool has taken over what is safe. Manufacturers are being a bit short-sighted here. Safety features on my car also need to be safety features for whomever I might be driving around. Call it, thinking outside the box.