seat belt - always -

Junkman · Jan 23, 2004

( .......................Now I'll also admit to some degree of prejudice; I started wearing seat belts in 1962, and on December 29, 1965, I was in the passenger seat in a squad car that hit a tree head on. The impact was severe enough that it broke my seat belt (probably because in those days they did not have the retractors and seat belts frequently were allowed to fall outside and have doors shut on them which may have weakened mine). And since the seat belt broke, my head went partially through the windshield. They found my uniform cap still stuck in the broken glass, that thick bill on the cap was cut completely through and I had small cuts all over my head and on my eyelids, but no deep cuts. ......................... )

Bird....... back then most seat belt failures were a result of the mountings failing, not the belt itself. I don't know if you verified what actually happened to the belt in your instance, but my bet would be the belt mounting failure as the fault. Back then it was nothing more than a hole in the floor that was backed up by a large metal washer holding a eye bolt. The floor metal would tear and that was the failure.... Saw it many times in my carreer.... I must have a dozen of those old belts still in the original packaging in my cellar....

Bird · Jan 23, 2004

( back then most seat belt failures were a result of the mountings failing, not the belt itself )

That's exactly right, of course, and that's what I later suspected, but I talked to the accident investigator later about that and he said, no, it was the belt itself that tore in two. It was the only accident he or I ever knew of in which the fabric of the belt gave way. But you know in 1965 a lot of the police officers didn't wear the belts; some considered them to be a nuisance and in the way so they didn't worry about one hanging out the door and getting dirty and/or damaged, and that one was in poor condition. In fact, the car was near the end of its service life and would have been replaced within a month or two even if it hadn't been totalled.

AndyM · Jan 23, 2004

( I must have a dozen of those old belts still in the original packaging in my cellar.... )

What's the matter? Don't you have anymore room to store them in your garage? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously though, the technology of the early seatbelts compared with today's was so poor, there were some models where you were better off not using them. Remember the earliest attempt at shoulder belts? First you put on the lap belt. Since it wasn't on a retractor, it had to be adjusted. Then you hooked the shoulder belt into the lap belt. You could tighten it so it would work, but then you couldn't move, or you could leave it loose, making it ineffective in a crash. On my Honda 600 (a death trap, even with your seat belt /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif), I never used the shoulder belt (too much of a pain to hook it in each time), but I always used my lap belt. I remember seeing cars with separate shoulder belts that had never been used. They still had the original folds and creases in them from the factory!

Today's seatbelt technology is so much better, and I credit my seatbelt for saving my life!

Lazy · Jan 23, 2004

Hi
Bird I did some research and found the following site that I thought was interesting reading. I guess I'm the dummy of the immediate family I’m the only one that doesn’t buckle up every time we get into a vehicle. And I have been in several accidents non-where anyone was seriously hurt. Tore up a lot of cars and trucks. It must be true it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks.

http://www.actsinc.org/

http://www.health.state.ok.us/program/Injury/okface/BrushHog.htm

http://users.aol.com/forgood/seatbelt/victims.htm

http://www.tarorigin.com/ARnews/ARnews6-99/0968.html

http://www.seatbeltlaw.com/types_of_injuries.html

Hambone · Jan 23, 2004

From one of your sights

Cars don't burn in minor crashes and they only explode in the movies. Vehicle fires are statisically so few that they don't figure as the cause of the injury (being hit broadside by a train going 60 mph is not a survivable crash so if the car burns the fire is not an injury contributing event.

MossRoad · Jan 23, 2004

It must be true it’s hard to teach old dogs new tricks. 

Oh, I don't know about that... maybe all you need is some treats and positive conditioning /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Look, we'd feel awful if something happened to you, your loved ones would feel awful and it would be a terrible waste of human life. Why play against the odds on a day-to-day basis? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Junkman · Jan 23, 2004

( ....................Look, we'd feel awful if something happened to you, your loved ones would feel awful and it would be a terrible waste of human life. Why play against the odds on a day-to-day basis? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif )

I believe that this is why the Darwin Awards were created.... some people just do stupid things against all good advise. Read more about the Darwin Awards Here........

MossRoad · Jan 23, 2004

That's not a treat and positive reinforcement... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Bird · Jan 23, 2004

Lazy, at least the 3rd of your sites seems to support your position to some extent if all the reports listed are true. But even if they are, that's a pretty small number for 20 years compared to the number of people who've been saved by seat belts. I look at it as playing the odds and the odds seem to be solidly in favor of wearing the seat belt.

Of course we know that we'll never get everyone to wear them. I was never able to convince my own Dad to wear them, and he drove his entire life without ever being in so much as a fender bender, so there are plenty of people who beat the odds; I just never considered myself to be that lucky. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I started using seat belts for the wrong reason; installed them myself in my car in 1962, not for safety reasons, but to hold my rear end behind the steering wheel when stunt driving after I had an "incident?" in which I was slung loose from the steering wheel over against the right door of a car. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Like a lot of things, it can seem awkward, inconvenient, etc. to get in the habit of wearing them, but after awhile, it just becomes second nature. I don't even think about it, but just ain't comfortable in a car (or on a tractor) without the belt on.

PineRidge · Jan 23, 2004

Like a lot of things, it can seem awkward, inconvenient, etc. to get in the habit of wearing them, but after awhile, it just becomes second nature. I don't even think about it, but just ain't comfortable in a car (or on a tractor) without the belt on.


Bird I'm with you, at this point in my life it would be awkward to get in a car or on a tractor and not use a seat belt. I also consider it second nature.