Seatbelt Violation

Really? I know a couple people that tell me that the only thing that saved them in a wreck was getting ejected from the vehicle.

 

i used to have a 68 merc monterey fastback that had both lap belts and shoulder belts but you could only use one at time because they shared the same buckle. the cop was a retard and could not understand even after i explained it for 5 mins.

 

Ok,so what is the "real" year model cutoff for not having to have seatbelts?In this thread I've seen '65 and '71,but the Tenn drivers handbook here says '68.Is it a state thing or federal?

 

http://www.enotes.com/science-fact-...hen-did-seat-belts-become-mandatory-equipment

 

1965 was the first year that all US cars were required to have lapbelts. In 1985 IL made it a law to use seatbelts. I was driving a 64 Chrysler at the time. Got pulled over at a roadside check. I did not get a ticket due to year of manufacture. I never leave the driveway without my seatbelt fastened, unless I am driving my 1930 Ford or my 1960 Pontiac, they did not come equipped with them.
Dan

 

66 Cadillac

My '66 Cadillac has no seat belts at all. I will have to check to see if my '67 Pontiac Bonneville has any - I'm pretty sure that it does. I also have a '66 Ford Ranch Wagon that I can check. (Obviously I'm not driving these cars often enough if I don't know if they have seatbelts or not...)

 

I was off by a year, dang if I just went by memory. Guess I talked my way out of a ticket back then. I dont remember if the 64 Chrysler I drove had seatbelts or not. Below is what I found on a websearch.
Federal legislation in the early 1960s caused the automobile industry to design safety, in the form of seat belts, into their products but it wouldn't be until the 1964 model year that front seat lap belts would become mandatory. Three-point belts became mandatory in 1968, although they were widely used in aircraft 25 years earlier.

 

You know two people that have been ejected from a vehicle in a wreck and survived... Have they considered pooling their money and buying lottery tickets?

Bottom line is, the odds are against you if you get in a bad wreck without a seatbelt. For every story someone can come up with about someone surviving without a seatbelt, I can probably search Google and find 50 stories of people getting injured or killed without a seatbelt on. Those who survived had luck on their side.

 

Motorcycle

Every wreck involving a motorcycle includes an "ejection" and many, many people survive motorcycle wrecks.

 

Well no ****. Am i advocating not using a seatbelt here? No! Im calling BS on some cop that claims seatbelts have never done more harm then good.

 

Those who survived likely had a helmet and other safety gear on (though believe me, I've seen the guys on sport bikes wearing a T shirt, flip flops and shorts running 80+ mph ). Most people don't ride around in cars wearing a helmet and leathers, last I checked. Then you have the windows and roof to screw you up more on the way out, then maybe you'll get lucky and not hit whatever you are running into, or have the vehicle roll on top of you.

 

I recall a wreck where the seat/shoulder belts did not help at all. A car was towed into the shop where I once worked that was almost unrecognizable. The Z28 badge on what was left of the fender was what identified it. Two young guys were zooming along at a very high rate of speed when the driver lost it. The a car climbed up an embankment, became airborne and slamed into a telephone pole. From there it dropped to the ground and barrel rolled down a hill. Both passengers were ejected from the car and died instantly. Now here's where the story takes a strange turn. The police officers on the scene noted in thier official reports that both passengers were wearing thier seat belts. The belts in the car were still fastened and not ripped lose. Somehow both of the passengers were wrenched out of the belts and thrown through the open T-tops on the car. It was later determined that both bodies had substantial trauma injuries that were caused by the seat belts. The belts themselves did not cause thier deaths, but they did not save them either. From the way the car looked, I doubt they would have survived one way or another. I remember the cops saying that they had never seen anything like that before.

 

Front lap seatbelts were optional on 1965 Mustangs, in 1966, they became mandatory

 

I owned a 1961 Falcon that had factory seatbelts.... They were an option back then.

 

I know folks that have survived ejection, have been to accident scenes where ejected folks walked away, and even witnessed a Mercedes roll over on I85 right in front of the truck I was in. We stopped before running over the occupants that came flying out as it rolled.

They were hurt, but none were in danger of dying.

Partial ejection is what kills. You are caught half way out, and the car rolls on top of you, or whacks your body into (or sandwiches between) things it is hitting.

I am not trying to be 'con' seat belts...
I had a lap belt save my life once. I believe in wearing seat belts now.

Just pointing out from law enforcement experience and some personal observations, how death by ejection is probaby less common than 'big brother' would brainwash it to be.
I wear a seat belt because I think it is obvious to wear it.
Just the same, I believe big brother has no right to force the sheeple to wear one.