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John Nash (A Beautiful Mind) and his wife killed in taxi accident


mrbellamy

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Truly beautiful minds are hard to come by lately.

That should never have happened. RIP. :crymore:

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"It doesn't appear that they were wearing seatbelts," he said.

This is one of the reasons why wearing seatbelts is strictly mandatory in Norway. I'm surprised it isn't in the US, with the heavy car use.

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It is mandatory in the US. In most states certainly

Really? It is enforced? Here, we have regular police controls on this very thing, and if you're caught not wearing a seatbelt (whether you're in a taxi or your own car or even on a bus), there's a hefty ticket to pay.

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I have no idea how strongly its enforced.

Kinda weird isn't it.

Nash was a mathematical genius and a Nobel Price winner. Yet still dumb enough not to wear a seatbelt.

Yeah, the same thing occured to me. That's why I'm thinking it may not be very heavily enforced -- if even smart people like Nash are so casual with it.

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Enforced or not. There is a MASSIVE amount of statistical scientific evidence that proves that ones survival chances in a major car crash are far greater if the seat belt are fastened.

People who don't use them are idiots, period.

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True, but in some countries, not wearing them is such an integral part of the culture. I mean, in how many Hollywood films do you see characters actually putting on seatbelts?

I don't mean to turn this obit thread into a discussion on seatbelt-wearing, but it's a timely question given the circumstances of Nash's death.

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This is one of the reasons why wearing seatbelts is strictly mandatory in Norway. I'm surprised it isn't in the US, with the heavy car use.

It's mandatory in Austria, and yet many people still skip them on the back seats, especially in a taxi.

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In some countries, to fasten the seatbelt is seen as offensive to the driver who will take it personally as - "I don't trust this guys driving". It is one of those - " don't make this faux pax" often found in smug guidebooks which is worth ignoring. It is still perceived as weird to fasten it, but better weird than dead. Of course, in some places there isn't one or it is broken. In those cases I got quite used to getting around un-fastened after being fundamentally programmed since birth to - "clunk click, every trip" as the advice went.

RIP Russell Crowe

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Enforced or not. There is a MASSIVE amount of statistical scientific evidence that proves that ones survival chances in a major car crash are far greater if the seat belt are fastened.

People who don't use them are idiots, period.

Darwinism wins.

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That's really too bad. Wasn't even their own driving involved. Tragic loss.

It is mandatory in the US. In most states certainly

Really? It is enforced? Here, we have regular police controls on this very thing, and if you're caught not wearing a seatbelt (whether you're in a taxi or your own car or even on a bus), there's a hefty ticket to pay.

That is the case here. Enforcement is tricky in a lot of cases, though. Have you ever tried looking at a moving vehicle and being able to clearly determine whether the driver has his belt on? In most cases, the officer has to have pulled the driver over for something else in order to make a clear discovery.

In those cases I got quite used to getting around un-fastened after being fundamentally programmed since birth to - "clunk click, every trip" as the advice went.

Wow, that's awkward. Makes it sound like something's wrong with your seat belt. I like ours better—"Click it or ticket."

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Since we're on the subject of seat belts, I always have to remind my dad to buckle up every time he starts driving. He has this bad habit of not buckling up after we start driving. Not even the seat belt light and alarm gets him to buckle up until it annoys him into doing so. I'm really afraid that if I don't remind him and if it weren't for the seat belt light and alarm that's it gonna get him in trouble someday, or worse.

After reading the accident in the link at the top of this thread, it just makes me worry for his life even more.

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Only if you drive a Holden!

Or if your ignition is wired to a car bomb that was installed in your absence.

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But a seatbelt will save your life from that explosion!

That's poppycock! A seat belt won't save you from an explosion!

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So one may forego the usual need for a seat belt simply by driving in a lead-lined fridge (as I've been recommending to people for years, to no avail).

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So one may forego the usual need for a seat belt simply by driving in a lead-lined fridge (as I've been recommending to people for years, to no avail).

Indy IV gave bad rep to the lead-lined fridges!

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I have no idea how strongly its enforced.

Kinda weird isn't it.

Nash was a mathematical genius and a Nobel Price winner. Yet still dumb enough not to wear a seatbelt.

Yeah, the same thing occured to me. That's why I'm thinking it may not be very heavily enforced -- if even smart people like Nash are so casual with it.

It's illegal to not wear seat belts in the U.S., regardless of the state you're in. But you have ironic circumstances like school buses or public transportation that don't have seat belts at all.
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Buses don't need seatbelts because the seats are designed to absorb the impact of a body in a crash situation

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-reason-school-buses-dont-have-seat-belts-2012-9

That's ridiculous. Tell that to all victims and families of people who have been killed in bus accidents largely due to not wearing seatbelts. I'm shocked to hear that busses -- not even school busses -- have seatbelts over there.

That being said, I must admit that I'm not terribly good at wearing them on busses myself -- even if the bus driver says it's mandatory and it's our responsibility should the bus be pulled over and checked. I usually only put them on if I'm in the front seat. In taxis, however, I ALWAYS wear them.

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That's not irony.

Of course not. It's selective enforcement.

No it isn't, since its not against the law for busses etc to have passenger seatbelts. So there is nothing to enforce

Well, you can't enforce a seat belt law if the vehicle in question has no seat belts. It goes without saying, really.

Then again, I've ridden school buses a good portion of my life without seat belts, and I've fared just fine, so maybe I'm just being legally picky.

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The cost of installing seat belts in buses would be worth saving the lives of those that wore them during a crash. I would say that's a salient point.

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And I'm a capitalist. What's that got to do with seat belt laws applying to buses?

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Busses have seatbelts in Norway?

We don't even have school busses in this country

OF COURSE busses have seatbelts (not the intercity ones, but long haul ones). But like you, we don't really have school busses (not that I'm aware of, anyway -- maybe things have changed since I was a kid).

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