Seat belt laws

I don't know when the first belt was used in a motor vehicle and personaly don't care if somebody does or doesn't wear one. But. This part has always bothered me. Say you have an accident and a a good samaritan stops to help and the first thing they do is unbuckle you so you can breath better. The EMS and police arive and do what they do. The samaritan leaves and the police report shows you not belted. You get a ticket and the insurance doesn't or won't want to cover you.

 

56 and the 57 Model year was when Safety became a buzzword. John Delorean actually had a hand in that. We had a 57 Chebbie with Belts and Padded dash, NEVER see the dash option in person anymore!

 

I also worry the dog will jump up on the bed and steal my condom midstroke and I wont notice! WTF? Over.

 

My '64 Riviera didn't have belts and was a California car. I had a cop tell me when I got pulled over, that in California any car '65 or newer and any truck '68 or newer requires lap belts...Never got a ticket for no belts in any of my older rides.

Here's the kicker...if you have seat belts in an exempt year car they must be used.

 

Boy am I glad we took our dog to puppy classes...

 

Probably a good thing that you use condoms then. I think that your dog doing that is more unlikley to happen then for somebody to stop and undo a seatbelt. WTF Back

 

Im thinkg that we got it real lucky in WI 71 and newer has to wear them 70' on back is exempt.

 

'64s did NOT have Federally-required front lap belts- had a '64 Catalina with the build sheet and no belts on paper or in the car. Also own a '64 GP, loaded, but no belts there or on it's papers.

'65 is the year the Fed mandated them, I have seen both Jan 1 '65 in numerous places (including the NY State vehicle code) and Jun '65 (in the NJ Motor Vehicle Code). I always wondered if it could ever come down to reading the build date code to get out of a seat belt ticket in a '65...

GM did include front belt anchors in the '62s, but I doubt this was federally mandated (don't know for 100% on that one, but there are precious few Fed motor vehicle laws prior to '65-66-67), plus mandating the anchors without mandating the belts is kinda pointless, even for the Fed, no?

 

Sorry guy, this just doesn't make much sence to me. If your belts are not installed correctly with the proper hardware, why bother?

I have belts in everything I own. Mine are installed with 1/2" grade 8 bolts and anchered to the floor, and not connected to the frame in any form. I do a lot of body mount repair at my shop to not trust most body to frame attaching points. Last 2 things I would hate to have in the back of my mind is: These belts are attached to the frame so if I get into a wreck and the frame goes one way and the body goes the other I'll be cut in 1/2. Or: If I get into a wreck, the belts won't hold me in place anyway because the cheap ass 1/4" bolts are going to break. If your going to have seat belts, at least have them installed correctly. Gene

 

You sir are paranoid and have the sense of humor of a 2x4

 

My uncles 56 Ford had them, but my father's 56 didn't. I had them in my 64 Fairlane, but not in my 64 Rambler American. I put them in anyway. At first people all told the same horror stories about them. That is people being trapped by the belts in burning cars. I think it was the urban legon of it's time. I've only encountered one person who was stuck by a mal functioning belt. It was a woman parked in a minivan who asked me if I had a knife, which seemed like a strange or possibly kinky question at the time. After she explained the problem, I gave her my swiss army knife, and she freed herself. In New Hampshire they are optional for people over 18. But almost every week the news has a story about someone who bought the farm after being thrown from a wreck. So, use em if you got them, and if you don't, get some.

 

My '56 T-Bird has them, came stock. Big honkin' aluminum aircraft-like buckles, the type you thread the belt thru, not the click-in type.

 

My non hamb 69 car had lap belts and shoulder belts as an option. Doesn't really apply to 99.9% of the cars on here, but that's all I got. My 57 has no belts at all. I'm gonna put some lap belts in when I remount the bench seat forward a few inches.

 

My first car as a teen was a little 1950's English Ford Prefect, weighed next to nothing, and they were popular as gassers as a result. This would have been about 1966. It had no belts in it, and I only had $6 left in cash after buying it, but for some unknown reason I went to the spare parts place and bought a $5 front lap sash seat belt.

Two weeks later I had a head on collision at a traffic light with a full sized Holden car when the driver turned across in front of me while I was doing 40mph. The little Prefect was demolished almost back to the firewall, but I walked away with nothing worse than some nasty bruises from my $5 seat belt.

I won't ride in a car without belts, and my kids and grandkids won't let me start the engine unless they're wearing their seat belts.

Cheers, Glen.

 

Well thank you, but if you don't see what I said as funny then you have the humor of a 1x1. Being bothered by something is a far step from being paranoid, but I see how some people twist what others say.

 

56 . i just got ought of a ticket due to the fact that seat belts werenot offered in 'em till then . got pulled over at 4 in the morning going to work in my 53 effie as they were on dui patrol . he wrote me for a freaking seat belt violation and they wnated to make sure i wasn't dui . uhhh yeah im driving a green 53 ford truck with loud pipes and leaving my house as i am drunk .............................

 

I believe you've gotten your answer.