This has probably been asked before but I have a seat belt question.

I know seat belts are a good thing most of the time. But I have a few old cars that didn't have seat belts when they were new and I haven't ever installed any.

But I do have one car that had a seat belt in the back seat middle for a child and I was told it was installed at the factory that way when it was ordered but there aren't any other seat belts in the car so Heres the real question

With all the click it or ticket BS lately what do you all that don't have seat belts in your cars do when you get pulled over and the Man notices you don't have seat belts. I've been given a ticket twice when I was younger for no seat belts in two of my cars but they got thrown out with some other tickets I had gotten at the same time. So it was no big deal.

I was told by a local pd officer the other day that I'm required to install seat belts in old cars otherwise they can write me a ticket for not wearing them and for an unsafe vehicle(he used other words I can't remember right now for the unsafe vehicle part)

I know there used to be a law here in arkansas that stated if the vehicle didn't have seat belts from the factory it didn't have to have them up untill they became manditory I'm guessing in the late 60s. I used to have a copy of the law with all the info about it in my car but I lost it and I don't know any of the police around here that could help me find it again.

Does anyone know if the old seat belt law is still good? Does anyone know where I could find a copy of it that I can print out so I can keep it in my cars?

Some of my cars I like keeping the interior somewhat period correct so I don't have seat belts in them but I do have seat belts in some of my other old cars that I didn't have a prefference on the interior.

Just thought I'd ask.

 

I also know you can get into a major law suit if you install seat belts in a car that wasn't originally designed for seat belts.

Then someone gets hurt or killed because of them being installed.

Which I guess is a catch 22 Your damned if you do and your damned if you don't when it comes to installing seat belts in antique cars that didn't have them.

 

Look at your states DOT website. As far as I know there is not any state that requires a retroactive installation. But all my cars get them anyway.

 

Please cite that law suit...I'd like to read up on it...if someone lost the case because of seat belt installation in an old car, I want to read how the attorney got by with that one. That's as bad as a homeowner getting jailed for shooting someone (manslaughter) for burglarizing his home.

R-

 

www.arkleg.state.ar.us/bureau/Publications/Arkansas%20Code/Title%2027.pdf

Here's your law: Article 27-37-702 (b)(1) Reqm't is not applicable to all passenger cars mf'd b/4 1968.

 

Get a copy of your states statutes.

 

Call Juliano's and get yourself some belts it aint worth fighting the man over safety stuff. That wordage is for the car, the driver law is that all occupants of a motor vehicle wear seat belts, that over rides the car law, they just dont go back through the books to clean out the old laws, By law a male is supposed to walk on the curb side when walking with a lady, and no spitting.

 

I had a cop in Florida hassle me about it before I got them installed in my '54 Buick. "It's Federal Law that all cars have to have seatbelts--your car has to have them."
It was made before they were required.
"It doesn't matter--the law says all cars have to have seat belts."
Well, the law also says all new cars have to have anti-lock breaks, collapsible steering columns, front discs, dual reservoir master cylinders, padded dash boards and air bags. Are you telling me I have to put all those on my '54 Buick too?

"Um... well...uh... the reason I stopped you is...."

-Brad

 

Not sure about Arkansas but here the law states that you don't have to have any equipment that didn't come with the vehicle.

They can still ticket you because even though your pre-64 vehicle is not required to have seat belts you are still required to be wearing them when you are driving or riding in the front seat of a vehicle or when you are riding in the back seat if you are under 17.

The ticket is not an equipment ticket it is an illegal use of a vehicle ticket or something like that.

Its kind of like the child seat law here. Its not enough for you to have a child seated in a child seat but the seat has to be properly belted into the vehicle.

I guess I'm just not as sharp as everyone else but I don't see the issue. Seat belts are cheap, and easy to install. If you are real clever you can even figure out a way to hide them when you are not in the car.

On a side note in MO if you have shoulder harness in your car you are also required to be using it. So they can ticket you if you don't not have your 5 point strapped on if you have one. Gawd those things are uncomfortable, they are alright for 1320 ft but after that forget it.

 

How much do you value your life?

 

You need to move over here with me buddy. We can shoot intruders here. Besides my wife has already either heard or been there for all my stories.

As for the law suit I'm afraid I have to cry BS on that one. That ranks right up there with I've changed "tons" of cams because there wasn't enogh zinc in the oil.

 

If the car was built without them, I'd just carry a copy of the state law showing they're not required. If they ticket you anyways, send a copy to the court with a photo of the car. I'm tired of the nanny state telling me what I should or shouldn't do.

 

BOTTOM LINE..............................it's a statistical fact...........your safer with the belts, they save lives.

Frank

 

Not in North Carolina, if you are 18 or over and it didn't come with them it doesn't have to have them. If you put them in you have to use them. If anyone is under 18 they have to be wearing one. So no kids in my car.

Yep....

 

i asked a cop one time because i have a truck that didnt have seat belts and they told me that if the car didnt come with seat belts that you dont need them, but who knows if he was blowing bs or what but i would check with the local law, or the DOT as metioned before.

 

I had a little 65 Datsun way back when. a cat ran out in front of me as I was just leaving the curb and I hit the brakes harder than I wanted. my buddy in the passenger seat smacked his head on the windshield and broke it. got a good lump but no concussion or anything. I was going about 5 MPH. put fucking seatbelts in your car.

 

I'd rather install them and take my chances on being sued, rather than taking my chances on being killed.

 

The way I see it. If I were to have to take a ditch, I want to be in the drivers seat if I make it out the other end. Maybe I'll have a chance of driving out of it. Kindof hard to do if you're no where near the steering wheel with your ass in your face.

 

Look mom... no seatbelt!!!

Pic borrowed from HarmsWay on the Ford Barn

Deist makes some snazzy looking belts... http://deist.com/belts-harnesses-c-17.html

 

Brilliant post, newb. Did you even bother to read the law?

"27-37-701. Definitions.

As used in this subchapter:

(1) "Motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle, except a school bus, church bus, and other public conveyance, which is required by federal law or regulation to be equipped with a passenger restraint system; and

(2) "Seat belt" means any passenger restraint system as defined by the Department of Arkansas State Police, except that, until such time as the Arkansas State Police has promulgated regulations defining "seat belt", the term means any passenger restraint system which meets the federal requirements contained in 49 C.F.R. 571.208.

27-37-702. Seat belt use required - Applicability of subchapter.

(a) Each driver and front seat passenger in any motor vehicle operated on a street or highway in this state shall wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt properly secured to the vehicle.

(b) This subchapter shall not apply to the following:

(1) Passenger automobiles manufactured before July 1, 1968, and all other motor vehicles manufactured before January 1, 1972;

(2) Passengers and drivers with a physical disability that contraindicates the use of a seat belt, and which condition is certified by a physician who states the nature of the disability as well as the reason the use of a seat belt is inappropriate.

(3) Children who require protection and are properly restrained under The Child Passenger Protection Act, 27-34-101 et seq.; and

(4) Drivers who are rural letter carriers of the United States Postal Service while performing their duties as rural letter carriers."

 

Still not smart to run without a belt.

 

The original question that started this Thread has been answered.

And there are too many people climbing on soapboxes...