Safe Speed Forums

per the RAC as heard in Sarah Kennedy's skim through the daily papers.

It seem per RAC "research" - Fat folk are more likely to fall asleep und have heart attacks behind the wheel. They also say that seat belts und air bags are designed for the average sized person.

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The GMTV coverage of this article was totaly offencive with the lower half ao a heavy driver opening atwin pack of pasties and a chocolate bar whilst driving.

The report ignores millions of other factors only concentrating on extraction from a car after a crash. Who kows what injuries may or may not be sustained in exactly the same crash by heavier or lighter people of the same age.

There also might be some truth because cars are not designed for taller or heavier people, or shorter people for that matter.

I dont usualy watch GMTV as it makes me shout at the TV, but we had visitors. It is aimed at sun readers who can't read!

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

Haven't seen the RAC report or listened to much of the media interest but there is an established link between obese drivers who drive high mileages and accidents through falling asleep at the wheel/fatigue vs attention. This is due to obstructive sleep apnoea, disordered breathing during sleeping. A neck circumference of over 17in is a good predictor of obstructive sleep apnoea. Basically the mass of the neck overcomes the ability of the pharyngeal muscles to keep the pharynx open for a few seconds. This will interupt sleep patterns and increases daytime sleepiness. Snoring also interupts sleep.

Obesity is caused by sedentary lifestyle and poor diet. Professional drivers often struggle to exercise enough to benefit their health due to being sat behind a wheel for long hours and eating habits can be poor. Heart disease levels are also high amongst this group.

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"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

Obesity is not helped by a bad life style, however when you look at identical twins... why are they always the same size???

Might your size be in your genetics?

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

Aren't fat people more likely to have heart attacks when NOT behind the wheel too?

The metabolic rate (esssentially how much energy do you burn doing nothing) appears to be in ones genes.

People with higher rates can get away with doing less exercise than those with lower.

Wouldn't fat absorb some impact and act as a cushion? If a person is fatter then would they not be able to recover from injury better, up to a point, because they have more reserves to fall back on?

There's also the 'bigger hammer' effect. It's hard to know which effect might be bigger.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

I've heard that it is possible to adjust your metabolic rate, but I don't know if that is true, or how it is done - assuming it can be done. Anybody know?

Best wishes all,
Dave.

Well - per the research - RAC seems to be saying the longer we sit in traffic jams .. the greater the risk of piling on those pounds due to lack of exercise. This seems to be based on a NON PEER REVIEWED Canadian study which claims that each extra hour spent in the car increases the risk of obesity by 6%. It's the same one which stated that one extra sandwich at lunch time also increases your risking becoming a "tub of lard"

By walking one extra kilometre per day reduces the risk of obesity by 5%.

Phew! I actually enjoy a long walk in the country side and you all know I ride my bicycle for leisure and pleasure.


I did hear one health guru on the radio suggest buttock squeezing and some gentle tightening and relaxing of muscles whilst sat at the office desk and whilst sat in the car going nowhere.

According to this set of statistics (and let's just say Disraeli's famous and much quoted remark holds much truth ) - fat people are more likely to be KSI in accidents and "stick insects and bean poles" (as in "very thin" are more likely to be their victims.


However, to eat healthily - we do have the CW Wonder Foods thread over in the Cycling section - and the advice per CW c an be verified by the books and magazine

"You Are What You Eat"

"Nutrition for Life" by Dr Lisa Hark and Dr Darwin Dean

Superfoods (by USA Dr Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews in which he lists 14 superfoods which include both green and black teas. turkey, salmon, tomatoes, broccoli and spinach, oats and yoghurt .. all the stuff I like

But .. we all have differing metabolic rates, genetic predispositions, and certain medical conditions to do with glands can cause weight to fluctuate upwards as well so I read in all these books and learn from the medics within the family.

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

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Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

Your own, or someone else's?

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I don't know about adjusting it 'on purpose', but it is said to slow at around 10% per decade after age 30.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

I think they meant tightening and relaxing yer own pelvic muscles


At least I hope so!

She also suggested doing some lunges with the vaccum cleaner I had visions of an old Morecambe & Wise sketch ( "at breakfast")

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

Not so long ago I seem to recall a report that fat people were less at risk in crashes than scrawny ones because they had more natural padding

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

More likely to have an accident if you're a fatty? Well that's this bloke on the endangered list then.
http://www.north-wales.police.uk/nwp/pu ... sp?CID=140

Apologies for the long link found through Pistonheads.

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Anyone who tells you that nothing is impossible has never bathed in a saucer of water.

The buttock squeezing in the car only really happens at cornering speeds well in excess of the posted limit!

Might explain why driving school people always look so well