Seat Belts or no Seat belts, that is the question

[alsancle]

If what you say is true why do you speak in such an authoritative and absolute manner? ...........Just asking...................Bob

I don't smoke, never have, but smoke nazis annoy me. The same thing is going on with this discussion. I always wear a seat belt unless I'm putting around the back-roads in a car that was not designed to have them. I'm looking for a project to do with my son. If it is in the 40s and 50s I'll put lap belts in for him, and in some crash situations they will probably help. But the attitude that a Duesenberg must have belts or the owner is negligent is just really really annoying.

[Dandy Dave]

Not my "airbag". she spends money like there's no end, and as far as saving my life, she has, on more then one occasion, threatened my life!

LOL... You Funny Wayne. I hope she does not read this, or you will be in the Dog House. Dandy Dave!

[Dave@Moon]

If what you say is true why do you speak in such an authoritative and absolute manner? ...........Just asking...................Bob

I'm old school.

[Guest Skyking]

I'm old school.

Really??

[Bhigdog]

I'm old school.

Ahhh...........The school of settled science. Doesn't Al Gore teach there?...................Just askin...............Bob

[padgett]

I've been wearing seatbelts since the early '60s (first car I remember having then was a 1961 T'bird). Personally I do not care for airbags since they deflate in time to see the telephone pole coming at you but not in time to avoid. That said two of my cars have airbags.

Believe they are essential in a bench seat car and less so with buckets and a console. The main reason is that I user to race (SCCA Nat'l, IMSA, FIA) and autocross (Solo II) seriously. In extreme maneuvers (an accident is just one example) it is difficult to control a car if you body is flailing around. It is even more difficult to control if the passenger is in your lap. So I always wear belts and insist that passengers wear one. I do not go to the extreme of installing harnesses though.

Air bags might be reasonable if the period of the accident equaled the inflation period of the air bag. May be true at low speeds but not at interesting rates. I have had cars airborne (Corvette is a poor airplane) for longer than an airbag would remain inflated. Of course while airborne you are just a passenger and mildly curious what is going to happen next. It would be nice to at least see it.

So I would not drive a car over 15 mph without seatbelts and the main reason is to remain in control and not to avoid injury.

[GLong]

Quote:

So I would not drive a car over 15 mph without seatbelts and the main reason is to remain in control and not to avoid injury.

Quote.

That's the main point !!!

GLong

[smithbrother]

This is my last comment on this subject.

in the 40's dad delivered a new Buick to a rich ladies home. In the small garage was a nearly new electric car. The car was so tall it couldn't be driven/pulled out. Garage had been built around it.

Seems hubby had been killed when he feel out of it when he hit a rut, and hit his head on a large rock. A seat belt would have kept him in control.

Dale in Indy

[ply33]

I've been wearing seatbelts since the early '60s (first car I remember having then was a 1961 T'bird). Personally I do not care for airbags since they deflate in time to see the telephone pole coming at you but not in time to avoid. That said two of my cars have airbags. . . .

I was avoiding posting on this thread but this one got me wondering: I was under the impression that air bags deployment was triggered by impact sensors so you'd have to have already hit the telephone pole and the only time the air bags need to be inflated is the duration of the collapsing of the crumple zone structure of the car. Am I wildly wrong on my understanding of this?

For what it is worth, I've worn seat belts or shoulder belts on all cars since my parents had them installed on the '63 wagon purchased new. And I've installed seat belts on the front seats of my '33 Plymouth. Rear seat passengers are a rare thing for me. They probably won't do much good in a high speed collision but I am hoping they will help at the speeds I generally drive.

Based on the photos in the "Ill Wind Page" of my 1920s and 30s automotive trade magazines, I'm not sure if they'd do much good in a typical wood framed vehicle of that era as it looks like that construction is likely to disintegrate in any significant accident. But my car has a "safety all-steel body" so if I can be kept in the car as the suicide doors fling open it is probably a good thing even if it means being impaled by the non-collapsable steering column.

[trimacar]

Front air bags are triggered only in extreme deceleration, such as happens in a head on collision with an oncoming car or stationary object. The trigger, at least a few years ago, was a steel ball in a cage, spring resistance, and electrical contacts. May be electronic now.

A side impact, such as my wife just had, does not trigger air bags. There are some cars now, of course, with side impact air bags.

Every accident is different , in some cases seat belts help, in others they hurt.....

[Dave@Moon]

A side impact, such as my wife just had, does not trigger air bags. There are some cars now, of course, with side impact air bags.

Side impact air bags became mandatory with the 2013 model year, however the car manufacturers had many years warning that was coming and discovered that they were great selling points as soon as they were available. As a result they became increasingly available from roughly 1005 on, with the majority of new cars having them by 2009.

[trimacar]

2007 GMC Envoy, so no side bags....

Edited March 30, 2014 by trimacar (see edit history)

[ply33]

Side impact air bags became mandatory with the 2013 model year, however the car manufacturers had many years warning that was coming and discovered that they were great selling points as soon as they were available. As a result they became increasingly available from roughly 1005 on, with the majority of new cars having them by 2009.

2007 GMc Envoy, so no side bags....

My 2004 Prius came with side impact bags. Can't remember if it was an option or not. . .

[padgett]

'07 Crossfire has side & added knee that year (making it a pain to replace a dash light bulb), '12 Jeep has side and curtain. Of course in the Jeep, unless with a semi or a moose, the accident is going on down there and not up here. Jeep is my kind of tow car: DOHC 6, 4 wheel disk brakes, and independent suspension front and rear.

[Dave@Moon]

My 2004 Prius came with side impact bags. Can't remember if it was an option or not. . .

They were available with the "Prius 4" package and above until 2007, when they became standard across the board.

[Marty Roth]

David,

So sorry to learn of your wife's side-impact crash. Hope she will have no permanent affects from the wreck

Many years ago our 1966 Dodge Dart GT convertible was T-Boned from the right side while my wife was driving. Thankfully no passengers were involved. The lap-belt held her in the car and kept her in her seat as the driver's door flew open. No shoulder belts were available for that vehicle at that time. Now some 25 or so years later she still deals with knee and leg problems as a result that crash.

Woulda', coulda', shoulda'..... Modern vehicles generally provide a better chance of surviving vehicular wrecks, and hopefully minimizing injury...

but that does not keep us from enjoying our vintage drivers..

Yesterday was the perfect day to drive the '54 Cadillac convertible for our local club's GARAGE TOUR - a Progressive Supper-type of event. After a brief bit of overcast the clouds headed for parts-east and the clear skies and 75 degree temps made for a perfect day of sunshine to enjoy the back roads. We drove from New Orleans and Jefferson Parishes to St. Charles - Ormond Plantation Estates for breakfast hosted by Jay and Pam Armstrong, and continued up the River Road through the Bonnet Carre Spillway and north on old Hwy 51 and east on 22 for a Salad Stop hosted by Doug and Patsy Wells in Ponchatoula where we got to see his now-completed '37 Packard Super-8 Sedan and future project Hudson convertible. After a really nice drive across Louisiana's North Shore communities we arrived in Wilmer, LA where Gary Traina and all his family hosted the Jambalaya, Ziti, Garlic bread, and Cabbage. Great food, even better company, and cars/trucks from the 30s through the 70s winding their way along - just "Bayou Browsing". Thankfully nobody had any kind of incident.