Mom of Crash Survivor: I Thank Honda, Not God

Lynn Beisner: federal regulations more important than higher power
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 12, 2014 5:45 PM CST
Mom of Crash Survivor: I Thank Honda, Not God
This undated file photo provided by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows a crash test of a 2002 Honda CR-V, one of the models subject to a recall to repair faulty air bags.   (AP Photo/Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, File)

Lynn Beisner's son was driving last week when a semi-trailer wheel landed on his hood and shattered every window in the car. Amazingly, the Honda vehicle "formed a cocoon for his body" and he didn't have "a scratch on him," she writes in the Washington Post. So whom did she thank on Facebook in a grateful letter? Well, Honda engineers who created "a car that safe," and executives "who did not scrimp on safety. Thank you, Honda." But her closing line annoyed some commenters who thought she should be thanking another, higher, entity. As one put it, "I am thankful that God held your son in His embrace and I am curious why you thanked Honda rather than Him." Yet Beisner says she has her reasons.

She's had "dodgy and dangerous cars," for one thing. One left her with a broken hand when the power steering went out and the wheel "whipped back." In another accident, she suffered "serious brain injury" and multiple broken bones that required "countless surgeries." Plus, she argues, US traffic deaths have dropped by 26% from 2005 to 2012 due to earthly factors like airbags and federal regulations. "Accidents also are not an act of God," she writes. "No matter what you believe about a divine creator, I think most would agree that an all-poweful and all-loving being would not need encouragement to do the right thing." When it comes to car safety, thanks goes to "science, regulations and corporations that prioritize safety." Click for her full piece. (More car safety stories.)

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