Elizabeth Dole announced a new rule

Posted by Yuka as World

Time was — and not so many years ago, either — when the average citizen took a
pretty dim view of banks and Banking. That this was so, it should be said, was
to no small extent the fault of banks and bankers themselves. Banks used to be
– and a few still are — forbidding structures. Behind the little barred
windows were, more often than not, elderly gentlemen whose expression of
friendliness reflected the size of the customer’s account, and nothing less than
a few hundred thousand in the bank could have inspired the suggestion of a
smile.And yet the average bank for many year was, to the average citizen,a
fearful, if necessary, instrument for dealing with business — usually big
business.

But somewhere in the past quarter centruy, banks Began to grow human,
even pleasant, and started to attract the little man. It is possible that this
movement began in medium-sized towns, or in small towns where people know each
other by their first names, and spread to big towns. At any rate, the results
have been remarkable.

The movement to “humanize” hanks, of course, received a
big push during the war, when more and more women were employed to do work
previously performed by men. Also more and more “little” people found themselves
in need of personal loans, as taxes became heavier and as the practice of
installment buying broke down the previously long — held concept that
there was something almost morally wrong about being in debt. All sorts of
people began to discover that the intelligent use of credit could be
extremely helpful.

Last summer, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole announced a new rule:
Unless states representing two-thirds of the country’s population pass
compulsory seatbelt - use laws by April 1989, all new vehicles will have
to be fitted with air bags or automatic seat belts.

The rule wouldn’ t have
been necessary but for one simple fact. Even though seat belts could prevent
nearly half of the deaths in fatal car accidents, 85 percent of the pepulation
simply won’t wear them.
Why not? Behavioral engineers have found that there
are all sorts of reasons — usually unstated. These are some of the most
popular. It’ s safer to be thrown from a car man trapped.
According to E.
Scott Geller, that’s a faulty argument. “In fact”, he says, “being thrown from a
car is twenty-five times more dangerous than being trapped”.

It won’t happen
to me; I’m a good driver. But what about the other person who may be a terrible
driver? The data show that the average incidence for all accidents in one
per driver every 10 years.
My car will end up underwater or on fire, and I
won’ t be able to get out. According to the Nationaj Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), only 0.5 percent of all injuryproducing accidents occur
under these conditions. “If you’ re wearing a belt, you’ ve got a better chance
of being conscious and not having your legs broken — distinct advantages in
getting out of a dangerous situation”.
I’m only going a few blocks. Yet 80
percent of accidents happen at speeds or less that 25 miles per hour, 75 percent
happen within 25 miles of home.