John Nash Has Died • Hacker News Board

Re: John Nash Has Died

#11

Post by cletus » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:05 PM UTC

The culture around seatbelts in the US confounds me.

As an Australian I've spent my entire life wearing seatbelts. It's second nature. I don't even think about it. Taxis or otherwise. In fact I think it's required in all cases.

But in the US people seem to view the choice to turn a mild car accident into a severe or even fatal one as some kind of moral stance or personal freedom. Or rather any effort to require their use as Big Government or the Nanny State.

Some states still don't require rear passengers to wear seatbelts. [1]

Personally I wear a seatbelt in cabs and don't think twice about it. I'd feel uncomfortable without one.

Anyway, sad news.

[1] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_legislation_in_the_...

Re: John Nash Has Died

#12

Post by vinceguidry » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:05 PM UTC

Lucky motherfuckers. I hope when I'm that old I can get a nice quick death too. And to top it off, they got to die together! That just takes the cake. None of that nasty grieving business, feeling like your life is over but you're still alive.

Really, I can't think of a better way to go. Hats off to you, Mr. Nash.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#13

Post by higherpurpose » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:05 PM UTC

po wrote: post #6

Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan. Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Som…

That's why I really like cars which make a sound if you don't have your seatbelt on. That way they don't give you the choice of not wearing the seatbelt and it's how it should be. This is why in such cases I strongly believe governments should force companies to enable something like that.

The social norms are stupid and this would give you the excuse to ignore them without giving it a second thought (hey, the car is making me wear it!).

Re: John Nash Has Died

#14

Post by krschultz » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:06 PM UTC

po wrote: post #6

Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan. Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Som…

I started wearing the seatbelt in NYC cabs after I saw the results of a relatively minor cab accident. The plastic barrier between the passenger and driver compartments was covered in blood. That's all the convincing I needed.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#15

Post by ufo » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:06 PM UTC

po wrote: post #6

Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan. Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Som…

I have gotten into the habit of always checking if the seatbelt is there before I get into a taxi and if its not I ride on the front seat. Well, I guess at least now I can tell a story about a famous guy who died from not wearing a seatbelt in the taxi whenever I get those odd looks from people.

I have always wondered why its so common to find cars with the rear seatbelts missing. The common story I get from taxi drivers is that passengers who don't like sitting on top of belt buckles shove them into the seat.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#16

Post by po » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:07 PM UTC

msutherl wrote: post #9

po wrote: post #6

Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan. Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Som…

I'm going to start buckling up in cabs now. Same as wearing earplugs at clubs, you might get weird looks, but it's better to be uncool than dead (or living with tinnitus).

Does it surprise you at all that I also carried around a set of earplugs on my keychain all through my college years? I highly recommend these as they don't change the audio spectrum very much compared to the foam kind:

http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/er20.htm...

I think I just really like low-impact high-reward behaviors. People tend to over-insure for common and minor issues and under-insure fore rare but costly ones.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#17

Post by munin » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:08 PM UTC

cletus wrote: post #11

The culture around seatbelts in the US confounds me. As an Australian I've spent my entire life wearing seatbelts. It's second nature. I don't even think about it. Taxis or otherwise. In fact I think it's required in all cases. But in the US people seem to view the choice to turn a mild car accident into a severe or even fatal one as some kind of moral stance or personal freedom. Or rather any effort to require their…

we might die in car accidents but at least we don't have an anti porn great firewall...

Re: John Nash Has Died

#18

Post by tyfon » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:09 PM UTC

po wrote: post #6

Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan. Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Som…

I _always_ buckle up, even in bus. I've gotten looks from taxi drives in south Europe for this, they treat it as an insult. I feel it's better to insult than be dead. Afaik since you get fined quite severely in Norway where I live (and most of Europe) if you don't wear a seat belt, the rate of use is much higher than the US.

He will be missed. Hopefully it can put focus on such a simple thing to save lives.

Re: John Nash Has Died

#19

Post by userbinator » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:09 PM UTC

po wrote: post #6

Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan. Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Som…

"Seatbelt culture" probably depends greatly on the local culture. In the UK, the driver of a taxi is allowed to not wear one, but not the passengers.

http://www.driving-law.co.uk/offences/seat_belts-exemptions....

Re: John Nash Has Died

#20

Post by CarVac » Sun, May 24, 2015, 2:09 PM UTC

msutherl wrote: post #9

po wrote: post #6

Such a tragic loss. Like many people, I never wore a seatbelt while riding in a taxi. I'm not really sure why, it just seemed somehow to be the social norm and I went along with it. Then one day, my co-worker and his girlfriend were both severely injured while in an accident crossing the east river in manhattan. Ever since then, I've gotten in the habit of using my seatbelt while in a taxi, car, bus, or whatever. Som…

I'm going to start buckling up in cabs now. Same as wearing earplugs at clubs, you might get weird looks, but it's better to be uncool than dead (or living with tinnitus).

I have the same Etymotics earplugs as someone in an above comment.

They were the best 15 dollar purchase I've ever made. I wear them even in only moderately loud situations.

Unlike foam earplugs, the only part that is visible is clear plastic so most people don't notice.