Hmmmmm....... its a wonder how any of us older folk are still around. We never used to have any seat belts in our cars, certainly not in our trucks. And when there were seat belts no one ever used them.

But alas I too am considering installing them, but only for the laws sake.

Did any of you guys used to ever drive around in the back of your grandpa's pickup back in the day? Never used or even thought about using a seat belt. Drive around with your kids in the back of your truck now..... and they'll take your kids away AND your truck.

I think my view on seat belts is a bit scewed though.... as I have never heard of anyone I know or have known, or any family member in my large families history, ever die in a truck accident with or without a seat belt. In fact I have never even read or heard of ANYONE ever die in a truck accident for that matter. I think I need to watch the news more. (no thanks). Might work to scare me too, into seeing the light (the one that says wear a seat belt).

In the insurance business we were all well aware that the only reason for the seatbelt laws, and to scare the public into thinking they were idiots for not wearing one, was to reduce the injuries (based on a HUGE populous), so that the insurance companies could try everything possible to reduce their liability/outlay of money, and pass those costs on to the consumer without them realizing it. Insurance companies like to use their immense power to force laws into place that help them in every conceivable way to reduce paying out money for any losses. And they enjoy having the consumer pay for those laws/safeguards. Like having kids wear rediculous bike helmets.

We also never had to wear a bike helmet. Again its any wonder how we all made it this far in life. Please. Once again, I personally have never heard of any child ever being seriously injured riding a bike without a helmet. No one I knew growing up, and no one in my large family ever was seriously injured not wearing a bike helmet. Again I have never seen a child injured by not wearing a bike helmet.

Only statistics made up by the insurance companies. Again based on a huge populous.

If you are going to race or offroad, by all means wear a helmet, good boots, and a seat belt.

As a kid, we never used seat belts. They did not even have them in most cars/trucks. Do any of you remember being able to drive around with a beer in our hand if we wanted to, and a 6 pack in the seat next to you?

Man things sure have changed. After a while, you probably start to feel like an idiot, or less of a parent, if you don't use seat belts, or bike helmets. But that does not change the fact that likely no one you know or have ever known, or ever will know has been seriously injured not wearing either.

Well.... I guess some of ya end up in a field on the side of the road without knowing how you got there. In that case, I'd probably want to wear BOTH (that bike helmet couldn't hurt?).

Anyway..... I picked up a set of belts from Pep Boys. They are pretty generic, and mount to the floor behind the seat. I still am trying to find the best location to start drilling. As noted with a non collapsable steering wheel that rides a few inches from your chest (and nice and hard/slim), and a steel dash, no crash cross beams welded into the door panels, etc., does not leave much room for a major crunch (in an accident the dash and steering wheel and doors actually move rearward..... I know that sounds crazy???). I really don't see seat belts doing much in an accident in my truck..... certainly not in a major one.

Its interesting how some actually think that driving ON road, is when you should wear safety devices, and not off road? This is completely backward from my experience. If my children ever road off road without a helmet, boots, etc., they'd be seeing a peach tree switch right quick. Oh wait.... that's against the law too now...

 

I wish I could say all that BlueDolphin. Alas, I HAVE seen all too many folks that would have been saved by restraints. A middle aged couple comes to mind. Both ejected. Male subject was ejected into a tree. Female subject was paralyzed from the neck down. The male subject was DRT(dead right there) I know for a fact because I tried to resusitate him. And his brain was exposed. I've seen the acidents for the kids without helmets and it's not pretty either.

 

How much is enough? Everyone must decide for themselves based on the type of driving they do, where they live etc.

If lap belts were enough, manufacturers wouldn't have added air bags; if air bags were enough, manufacturers wouldn't have added side curtains. I have a car with 7 bags. If they all go off, the insurance company will have to write it off as a total loss just on the cost of stuffing all the bags back where they belong.

I mainly drive around town; how fast can I go with a 4.86 3rd member? I have Bendix lap belts that I bolted to a heavy steel and angle with big Grade 8 hardware, including large diameter washers. The angle is sandwiched between the seat and the cab floor, again with Grade 8. Lap belts do a good job of keeping you in front of the steering wheel and the pedals where you can maintain control of your truck.

If I ever installed a lower ratio 3rd member, so I could go faster, I'd consider the shoulder harnesses. But for now, I'm OK with the laps.

I've heard you can bolt in those shoulder harness mounts from Mid-Fifties, but I've always seen them welded. How do they bolt-in?

 

I was driving my 51 F1 across on of our main streets a couple weeks ago. I was in the left hand lane of a 4 lane road. This woman pulled out of a side street to my left in front of on coming traffic. A blazer hit her right behind the left front tire at around 45 MPH and went airborne. They were about 15 feet off my left fender at 45 degrees, It all happened so fast I barely had time to react. Knowing there was no one beside me I swerved hard to the right. Luckly I was wearing a lap belt, it at least kept me from sliding across the seat. After I passed and looked in my rear view mirror, I could see they finally stopped half way across the lane I was in. Still don't know how I managed to get out of there way. Guess the good Lord was riding with me on that one. I plan to work on installing my 3 point belts this weekend.

Rod

 

I feel bad for you BlueDolphin for thinking you are only going to wear seatbelts because the law says so. If you haven't read, or seen, any injuries caused by a belt not being worn I think you must have lived a very sheltered life. I lost 2 1/2 years out of work from a rear end accident. I was messed up but alive and only had a seat belt on at the time. Maybe insurance companies are a bit self-serving but give us a break - you will protect yourself ONLY because the law says so? I'm sure most of the readers hope you change your attitude.

 

WARNING TO FURGESON : CLICK YOUR BACK BUTTON NOW!

I know someone who was impaled by the steering column in his fifties car back in the early sixties, That's the very reason for colapsable columns today. I scoffed at seatbelts and shoulder belts until the day my wife and I came close to seeing the white light when we broadsided a hicube that ran a stopsign. I took off the rearview mirror with my head before hitting the windshield header. Our across the street neighbor owned a bodyshop and towing service and my father and I rode with him on a towing call one night. Guy had hit a bridge abutment and went completely thru the windshield and was laying on the hood covered in blood. I stayed in the truck until they came back (the neighbor was so upset he told the cops to call another wrecker and we left. I asked my father why everyone was looking around the ground with flashlights. "They were looking for his eyeball" was the answer.

 

I have had someone die in my arms also. But a seatbelt would not have made any difference. With all of the drivers on the road, we are all likely to come upon an accident. But, you have to keep in mind the huge populous of drivers.

If you are police, CHP or Highway patrol, you are seeing part of that huge populous. But has anyone you have known personally died from not wearing a restraint? Perhaps. Likely not though. I do not know anyone personally that has.

I do a lot of SCUBA diving. I hear of, and read about, and see on the news many reports of sharks attacking folks and killing them. However, once again, no one I have ever met, or known, nor anyone I have met knows of someone personally who has ever died from a shark attack. In fact I tell new divers, that it is a fact that more people have actually died from falling coconuts than shark attacks (true fact).

Anyway.... bottom line..... its the law. Seat belts.... not the walking under coconut tree thing ;

I was hoping I could just use the bolts that hold the seat down for part of my sealt belt installation, but that won't work. So looks like I'll be drilling more holes than I'd like.

 

May be of interest !

http://www.dataflo.net/~mpurintun/vi...o_seatbelt.wmv

Stephen

 

I don't personally know anyone who has died from the bends, but that isn't a logical reason for me to dive without a depth gauge or computer! BD, sorry, but I find your attitude about seat belts incongruous for a diving instructor!

 

Interesting video. I find it surprising that he ended up going through a side rear window. It is hard to tell from the video because the camera is mounted to the dash of the car, so any rotation experinenced by the car would be also experienced by the camera. It would seem that the car must have been travelling backwards at the time of final impact to throw such a big boy into the backseat. Or more accurately, he did not decelarate as fast as the car did.

 

Moderator Edit: Split from thread in 1948-1960 Forum.

 

I knew a lady that owned the daycare my son went too that was killed along with her 12 year old son and 6 year old nephew in a one vehicle crash. Her 7 year old daughter survived. Why? She was the only one with a seatbelt on.
The lady swerved to miss hitting a racoon on the highway where it crossed a long stretch of bottom land at night, just 4 days before Christmas 3 years ago. Her late model Dodge extended cab 4x4 was wrapped around a tree. Even the frame folded! The driver of a car that was following her told the state police that she has passed him at a high rate of speed.
She, her son and nephew were ejected from the truck when it crashed into the tree at an estimated 70 mph.
I can personally say that seatbelts saved me in a roll over accident 15 years ago.

 

Just drilling holes in the floor pan to attach your belts may be giving you a false sense of security. It won't hold in a collision.

A friend of mine has a '55 Chevrolet Bel Aire with (had)aftermatket seat belts installed. His insurance company told him to remove them because they were not original equipment. The belts as installed were not secure thru the floor pan. In the event of a collision, and a passenger was injured, they could sue because of belt failure. That, to them is more of a peril than having no belts.

Maybe you should also check with your insurance company on this.

 

I have no doubt whatsoever that my daughter and 3 of her friends were spared serious injury because they were wearing their seatbelts.

She let her friend drive our Geo Prizm and he slid it off the road in some gravel and into a tree. It struck the tree just right of the vehicle's center line, headon. Folded the right front tire and associated suspension components up to the firewall, pushed the dashboard back 2 inches, and both doors on the passenger side had at least a 1 inch overlap when we tried to close them back.

Rear passenger on the driver's side hit her head on the front seat, broke her collarbone from the shoulder belt, and the rear passenger on the right side bent the front seatback when she hit it. Both front passengers were OK. They all had shoulder belts on.

THEY ALL WALKED AWAY. No life threatening injuries. Car was totaled, but it folded up like it should.

Seatbelts save lives. To pretend otherwise is foolish. I've seen too many people come through the ER badly injured because they were either ejected in a collision or they bounced around in the car.

I never pull out of my driveway without my seatbelt.

 

We buried a son of a friend last year- his Bronco went off the road, he was ejected from the truck and it rolled over him. Honor student, football star... what a waste. No seatbelts, of course- his folks still don't use them. go figure.