The great thing about learning is that it is not confined to certain times or locations. Learning can happen anytime, anywhere.
I like to highlight this fact by, once a month, looking at things we encounter on a daily basis and seeing what important lesson we can from them.
In today’s installment of “Five Things We Can Learn From Everyday Objects” we are going to talk about something that I hope we use everyday…
5 Things We Can Learn From Seat Belts
1. Good Ideas May Not Come As Fast As We Think
The very first car was invented in 1886. The first car crash was reported to have taken place in 1891. You’d think seat belts would have come shortly after. You’d be wrong.
It wasn’t until 1955 that a patent was submitted for an automotive seat belt. And it wasn’t until 1968 that it became a law at required all vehicles (except buses) to be fitted with seat belts. We put humans into outer space before we required cars to have seat belts. And it wasn’t like the delay was because the problem was new. Car accidents had been happening for 77 years. Sometime it just takes a little longer than we may think to come up with a good idea.
2. Common Sense Isn’t Always Common
Seat belts save lives. Research has found they are 50% effective at preventing fatal injuries for drivers. If we don’t want to die, it makes total sense that we would wear seat belts. Yet some people still do not wear them. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, 88.5 percent of drivers and front seat riders buckle up. While that is a high percentage, that still leaves 11.5 percent that apparently do not want to be safe. I guess that is a good reminder that no matter how good your product is, you just can’t convince everyone to use it.
3. We Are Always Influencing Our Kids
If I haven’t thrown enough facts at you, here’s another one…children are likely to be buckled 92% of the time when adults in the car use seat belts, as opposed to 72% of the time when adults are not using them. Even when we think they aren’t watching, we are influencing our kids. I guess we should make sure we are doing the right thing.
4. Thing Don’t Work As Well When They Get Twisted
I’ve never really understood how a seat belt gets so twisted. It is in the same place every time I use it, but somehow it gets tangled up from time to time. Unless you make Twizzlers, this is not something you want to happen to your product.
5. There Can Be More Than One Way To Do It
According to Wikipedia, seat belts come in the following different types:
- Two-point
- Lap
- Sash
- Three-point
- Belt-in-seat
- Four-point
- Five-point
- Six-point
- Seven-point
Apparently there are almost as many types of seat belts as there are Oreos. Speaking of which, I am actually a little surprised that there isn’t a type of seat belt called double stuffed. Sounds like a good business opportunity if anyone wants in…
Blog By Bake 