Car Safety Then and Now

In the past day I have come across 2 radically different conceptions of auto safety and auto safety testing. Here is an attempt to use tires on bumpers. The test driver has no safety restraint and drives headlong into a brick wall. There is some sawdust for cushioning if he launched out of roofless the car. In another exercise Stephen Levitt of Feakonomics after looking at accidents reports suggests that car seats for are more dangerous than lap or shoulder seat belts for children 3+.

There are other approaches to car safety. The blog post before this suggests that you can avoid monsters, mobsters and ordinary psychos by driving a Smart car.