Associated Press: Safer Cars May Kill You!

Newer, sturdier cars with air bags are reinforced coffins on wheels, according to an Associated Press article from yesterday. Rescue officials report that it takes them longer to cut car accident victims out of new model cars made with reinforced steel instruction. Also, you know those airbags everyone is so pumped about? Add them to the litany of horrors that keep safety workers from getting to you in a timely manner. They're basically exploding obstacles to rescue. That green car you bought to save the environment? Well, it's not helping anybody save you: "Hidden battery cables in hybrid cars can deliver a powerful shock" to rescue workers. How can rescue workers possibly contend with these hindrances? "To protect themselves, workers now have to peel away the ceiling and interior plastic to see what's underneath." Oh. The article then goes on to say that many rescue officials are simply investing in newer, tougher equipment — "if they can afford it." Cue ominous organ music. Perhaps this sentence sums up the problem best: "Experts cannot say for certain whether the delays in getting these victims to the hospital have resulted in people dying. But that's the fear." — Andy Wright