I just spent twelve hours of my day flying and hanging around in airports, so my brain is pretty numb at the moment. But here's a thought that struck me right as my plane was about to land: why do we still use lap-belts in airplanes?
Lap-belts were banned from land vehicles because they cause spinal/internal injuries in accidents. Even most back-seats have three-point seat belts because they are much more effective. In fact, I think airline pilots and even the cabin staff have 5-point harnesses - so what does it say about the passenger when they're only given a lap-belt? I see several possibilities:
1) You are not worth as much to the airline as the pilots & staff, so they have invested less money in your safety.
2) In the event of the plane crashing, the seatbelt will have such a minimal effect on your survival that upgrading to a three-point belt is not going to make a difference. The only purpose of the belt is to keep you from knocking your head in the event of turbulence, so a lap-strap is enough to do the job. But then why do the pilots have more secure equipment?
3) Consumers would complain loudly about lack of comfort and mobility, or,
4) Consumers would complain about feeling less safe in a 5-point harness because it would make one acutely aware of the dangers of flying.
It seems to me that points 3 & 4 are the most likely, but also unsatisfactory - the same arguments applied to the introduction of mandatory seat-belts in the 1960s, but we went ahead anyway because it's a good idea. And #2 doesn't stand up to scrutiny, either.
That leaves me with point #1, which is a less-than-encouraging thought. What have I missed?
