Fun in New Jersey --- NOT !!!!

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

No one ever drives as safely with one had on the wheel as they do with both hands on the wheel. It's just ergonomically impossible. They might be safe enough in most cases, but WTSHTF (when the sh— ahem, stuff— hits the fan) there's no substitute for having both hands on the wheel in the 10-and-2 positions.

"Haven't had an accident yet" is not necessarily the same as "driving safely."

Most people drive with one hand on the wheel. If you can't get the other hand on the wheel quickly in an emergency you might want to put 'em at 10 and 2 and keep them there but Might get tiring on a long trip. Recognizing trouble and staying away from it goes a long way. I'm always "profiling" driver behavior and vehicle appearance and adjusting accordingly.

"Never had an accident" means you are doing something right especially if you can say that for a period of 40 years and several million miles. It ain't luck.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Countryboy59

"Never had an accident" means you are doing something right especially if you can say that for a period of 40 years and several million miles. It ain't luck.

I disagree. Sometimes it IS luck.

As a collateral-duty safety coordinator for the Army Corps of Engineers, a certified person for fall protection, and a member of a board of investigation for two different fatalities and numerous non-fatal accidents during my career, I can attest that people can get away with doing things wrong for a looooong time before it finally bites them on the butt. "We've always done it that way and never hand a problem" until the one time when they do have a problem. "We've always done it that way and never had a problem" does NOT equate to "We've always done it safely."

The reason for this phenomenon is that no accident EVER has just one cause. An unsafe condition combined with an unsafe act, or two unsafe acts that occur in just the right sequence (usually the two acts are by different people in that case). An unsafe condition can exist for a long time without being repaired, and doesn't cause an accident because everyone knows about it and takes precautions. People perform unsafe acts all the time, and get away with it because there's no unsafe condition to aggravate the problem. It's only when they come together that accidents happen. If the unsafe act and the unsafe condition never happen at the same place at the same time to make an accident, then it IS luck that you got away with the unsafe act for so long.

Texting while driving is an excellent case study. You might text while driving every single day for years and never have an accident because your distracted driving never happens when there's a problem ahead of you. And if you do text and drive and get away with it, you'll probably even think, "I'm a good driver, because I can do this and others can't." Until that one time when something else happens in front of you when you're not looking and you can't react quickly enough. Unsafe act plus unsafe condition equals accident.

I'm not saying that you, Countryboy59, are doing anything unsafe. I'm just saying that "never had an accident" really doesn't always mean "always been safe."

[OTRA15]

The same video has been posted in a new thread FYI:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...le-175510.html

. . . although the soundtrack is different.

Peter

[uncle_bob]

Hi

How unusual that we (or any forum) would have multiple threads on the same topic

Bob