I don't think I'm getting through to the piece of mind thinkers.
So, since I'm the only one who used this term in this discussion, I have to assume you are referring to me. So let's discuss.
1) Bartamos, I always hear what you say and I always understand what you say. If I didn't, I would ask you. We may not always agree on the method, but we always seem to be heading to the same finish line.
2) In my daily job, there isn't much I can do, modification wise, without having a discussion with our department engineers. They are the people on top of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, OSHA regulations, California compliance and whatever else guides us to keep a safe and compliant fleet. I have to or our users don't get to go home to their families every night or someone out in public won't either.
3) I have been working on this fleet for 35 years. I understand what it takes to have a safe or unsafe vehicle. I'm just about regulated by law to do that on a daily basis. Let's call that DVIR fun and BIT regulated vehicles!
4) Our fleet can be the most modern at times. We have vehicles that most people will never see. Which reminds me. Never buy a vehicle from Azure Dynamics or from VIA. You probably can't anyway because I think they both went out of business.
I believe you misunderstood what I meant by "peace of mind" since I didn't put much explanation behind it. What I meant by that, as it refers to me, is that I grew up in an era where seat belts weren't required. Then, one day, wearing seat belts became law. You can still see the slogan on signs here and there that say "Click it, or ticket." I also understand the concept of being grandfathered. My truck doesn't require seat belts. Knowing this, in my mind, the seat belts are just for looks. Maybe a psychological credit from the police if I ever get pulled over. They really aren't going to do much to save my life. Especially after the steering wheel cuts in to my gut and I bang my head against the ever so close windshield. There is just not a whole lot of soft up there. No ribs in the doors, and a plywood floor behind me with seats attached by keyhole plates trying to pass through me to exit the windshield area. Yeah, not pretty.
As for my children, all they have ever known, have been restraints or seat belts. With them, the world feels wrong if they don't have some kind of restraint. It is for their "peace of mind" that I put seat belts in my truck. I will still explain to them that the seat belts in my truck aren't the ultimate in protection, if at all. It is still on me to explain why I have a greater, than what most people do, following distance. It is my responsibility to explain why modern vehicles are much safer than my old truck. How the rules of safety are written in blood. To drive as defensively as possible. To know that a hot rod is exactly that, a hot rod. That old vehicles days of glory are in the past for a reason.
You got through, you always do. I was just talking about something different.
