Hello haven't been on here in years but need some advice. I have a 3 year old and she loves my car. My 53 cadillac doesnt have factory seat belts so I can't take the family with on a Sunday drive. I bought lap belts and bolted them through the floor with heavy plates. Would this be legal or will a child not be allowed to ride with me? I ask my buddy who is a cop and he doesnt know the legal answer to that. Thanks in advance!
I did the same as you basically in my 52 Chevrolet when my boys were about 6 months old and up. At least in my state, legal is no seatbelts if the car didn’t come with them. My thoughts were I was concerned more with safe and felt the lap belts retained the car seats well in the back seat. Also, I suspect that most cops are like your buddy and aren’t sure of the laws concerning seat belts in cars that didn’t come with them.
I say the heck with what the law is,.....put the seat belts in before your head hits the windshield!...miller
I brought my daughter home from the hospital in my Buick. I, like you installed lap belts in the back. Her car seat doesn't move at all. Just be sure to push down really hard on the seat while you are tightening the belt.
A 'conventional' car seat can be secure with just lap belts. If you have the 'high chair' type (where they can see out), you'll need an additional belt at the top tied to the body structure. New cars have these installed on the package tray.
My 48 was easy to install shoulder and lap belts in the rear seat for car seats. Nice to take the grand kids along and feel good about them being safe.
We brought our twin girls home from the hospital 42 years ago in the ranch wagon with the baby carriers sitting in the back seat, no seat belts at that time. We brought our oldest granddaughter home from the hospital in a 1939 Ford convertible, again in a baby carrier, her mom had to spend a couple of day's in the hospital so we took the baby home with us. Times have changed and there is lap belts for the grandkids in the back seat. HRP
I realize I didn't answer the question, I think it depends on where you live but I would think as long as you make provisions for buckling the children in they should be safe. HRP
I put lap belts and top tether anchors in my 54 wagon. The lap belts hold the bottom of the seat and the top tether goes down to the floor behind the seat. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My 90 lb. Chocolate Lab, Annie LOVES to ride in my F100. She sits properly in the 'shotgun' seat, so I just tether her from her leather collar around the headrest, with her leash, a 32" X 1.25" heavy police strap. Her neck is her strong suit, and the setup allows her free movements, but 'tethers' her in case of a panic stop. Annie NEVER puts her head out of the window. I told her when she was a puppy: "Pretty girls don't do that." She's a good girl.
This lap belt and the top teather and your safe !! Uphear if the car did not come with seat belts you don’t need them But I’ve installed rear seat belts since my kids have been around.
Who remembers standing on the floor Behind the front seats holding on to the cord on the back of the seat? (Fully realize I didn’t answer the question)
Federal requirements for lap belts for front seat passengers started in 66 or 67, so if your car is built before then, it's exempt from having to have them, but you can install them yourself if you want. Now as to your question about a child car seat, I asked a friend who is a city cop, and got the same result that you did. He told me the law doesn't state anything about exempt vehicles, so going by Federal law, you wouldn't have to use a child car seat. But most cops don't know the Federal statute, and assume that ALL vehicles have seat belts. His words, not mine. We asked a fellow officer of his, and he wasn't sure, either. When told about the Federal statute, he said the same thing my cop friend had said, Federal law would override the state law, and a child seat or belts wouldn't be required. But both agreed, to be safe and not get ticketed, you probably need a lap belt and child seat in the rear seat, front would still be exempt. I put a 1" strap I took off of an old child seat and mounted it to the trunk floor with some large washers to distribute the load. The seat we used had it's own belts, so I secured it with the 1" strap, then belted the kid in, the seat wasn't going anywhere. I will probably buy a belt kit and put in a regular belt before he rides in the car again since he is large enough and old enough to not need a car seat anymore.
Fed mandate for front outer (only) seat belts went into effect for Jan 1 '66, so I guess, were one ornery enough- you could challenge a seat belt ticket in court if you were able to prove the week/month your '66 car was built. Federal statue for rear belts came notably later, so if your vehicle was exempt up front, it's definitely exempt in the rear. That's not to say it's still not a prudent idea when children are involved.
Might be worth it just for the sake of being right. With something like a Marti report, you could prove exactly when one was built. But might just be being an ass over a $25 ticket, too. I read last night that our Governor just signed in a new law making rear seat passengers buckle up. I guess the state of Alabama hasn't got enough money to waste, so now they will start stealing from folks who don't wear belts in the back seat.
Build sheet if you had it, or GM cars are week/month coded on their data plates. I'm sure there are like codes on many other brands. Poking around online, I see NJ didn't require rear seat passengers to be belted until 2010 (Void if car built before 07.01.66 or did not have belts as federally required/originally built without rear belts). I plan on putting outer lap belts in my '59, because I plan on driving it like an idiot, but no kids here so no rear belts. I hate the look in a vintage car tho.
I mounted an anchor bolt through the floor in the back seat for my son's car seat when he was little. In Canada seat belts weren't mandatory in cars till 1974 I believe. When my kids were small they used to love showing their friends my car and the main feature they would point out was it had no seatbelts.
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