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Paul Weigand of Kansas argued with the court that the state statute requiring people to wear seat belts while riding in a car didn’t specifically assert that the seat belt (not pictured) had to be attached to the vehicle in question:
An officer ticketed Paul Weigand during a winter traffic stop after making him get out of his car to prove the belt wasn’t connected to the vehicle. Weigand says he is terrified of becoming trapped in a burning vehicle. Plus, he says the law doesn’t specify that the seat belt has to be attached to his vehicle.
The judge disagreed and levied him a fine and court costs.
Link via Lowering the Bar | Photo (unrelated) via Instructables
Ford is developing a seat belt that inflates when the car detects a crash. In The Wall Street Journal, Matthew Dolan writes:
Its inflatable rear seat belts spread crash forces over five times more area of the body than conventional seat belts, said Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president of sustainability, environmental and safety engineering
Each belt’s tubular air bag inflates with cold compressed gas, which flows through a specially designed buckle from a cylinder housed below the seat. The inflatable belt’s accordion-folded bag breaks through the belt fabric as it fills with gas, expanding sideways across the occupant’s body. It looks something like a water wing children wear in the pool before they know how to swim.
Link via Popular Science
