I learned this morning that a relative of my wife's was in an accident,thrown from the car, and died at the scene. He was only 14 or 15. His mother was also thrown from the car but she survived. As I read these articles about people saying our types of cars are unsafe and such, please when your building your ride install seatbelts. Even if you think it's not traditional, you can hide a lap belt in between the cushions, put one in. I want to be able to meet everyone face to face not face to headstone. Thanks, plmczy
Sorry about the loss, your right about seatbelts, i'm in the process of putting some in, now I will get on it..
sorry to hear that I'm building a family car - a 58 biscayne 4 door, because I'll be a daddy soon - first old car with seat belt!!! safty first -- especially the family
Sorry plum,best wishes to the family.I DO wear them always!My son will be in a custom carseat in both projects!If he's not too old for one when I'm done with them.
Sorry to hear about your loss. That is terrible. As soon as I find some cool looking seat belts, I'll toss some in the '55. I'm not trying to start a bitch session but I have to say that I feel safer driving my steel dashboarded, non-seatbelted, non-safety glassed '55 than ANY car I've driven made after 1990. One word: Visibility. It really pisses me off how all of these car companies talk the safety talk with their "airbags" and "side impact" this, and their "Anti-lock" that. I have yet to ride or drive in a "late model" car (made after 1990) that I felt comfortable SEEING out of. Every car has to have that new car "style" now, so they all get A pillars that are 5" thick and 3.5 feet long and stretch out making a "cab forward" look. All this does is cover up more of the driver's view. Same with the blind spot between the side and rear windows. I was in a '95 Altima once and actually turned to check my blindspot- which appeared to be clear- and almost ran an F-150 off the road, because I couldn't see it through the width of the rear pillar. In my cousin's 98ish Blazer, the rear window is almost completely covered by the spare tire mounted on the tailgate. They do all the crash tests and cars either pass or fail, but do they do any tests to see how well a driver can keep the car out of an accident? In short, they are more Reactive than proactive, and it sticks in my craw when they talk about how safe their cars are.
[ QUOTE ] They do all the crash tests and cars either pass or fail, but do they do any tests to see how well a driver can keep the car out of an accident? In short, they are more Reactive than proactive, and it sticks in my craw when they talk about how safe their cars are. [/ QUOTE ] Some of the younger drivers aren't worried about how they drive because the airbags will protect them. Car commercials on TV stress the fact that you don't need to know how to drive anymore. Crash it and buy a new one.
Sorry to hear about the tragedy My Model A has them already and i use 'em all the time! found them hidden under the seat when i first got the car Though it still scares me sometimes to bring my daughter in the car with me. I don't care what happens to me, it's her i worry about when we go for a ride in the Hotrod ... even though she loves riding in it, it still keeps me on my toes and i drive even more carefully. CAB
plmczy I'm also sorry for your loss. [ QUOTE ] I feel safer driving my steel dashboarded, non-seatbelted, non-safety glassed '55 than ANY car I've driven made after 1990. One word: Visibility. It really pisses me off how all of these car companies talk the safety talk with their "airbags" and "side impact" this, and their "Anti-lock" that. I have yet to ride or drive in a "late model" car (made after 1990) that I felt comfortable SEEING out of. Every car has to have that new car "style" now, so they all get A pillars that are 5" thick and 3.5 feet long and stretch out making a "cab forward" look. All this does is cover up more of the driver's view. Same with the blind spot between the side and rear windows. I was in a '95 Altima once and actually turned to check my blindspot- which appeared to be clear- and almost ran an F-150 off the road, because I couldn't see it through the width of the rear pillar. In my cousin's 98ish Blazer, the rear window is almost completely covered by the spare tire mounted on the tailgate. They do all the crash tests and cars either pass or fail, but do they do any tests to see how well a driver can keep the car out of an accident? In short, they are more Reactive than proactive, and it sticks in my craw when they talk about how safe their cars are. [/ QUOTE ] You are wrong if you feel safer; old cars are MUCH less safe than the newer ones and ANY car is unsafe if you aren't wearing a seat belt. That '95 Altima probably weighs as much as you much bigger '55 whatever because the body structure is much stronger. The older cars are bigger but they folded up like beer cans in a crash. Windshield glass is different too; you're much less likely to put your head through it and get "necklaced" than with the old stuff. As far as keeping it out of an accident; with weak drum brakes, too-soft suspensions, and very slow steering ratios, most '50s cars are barely controllable in a straight line, let alone in emergency maneuvers. You can download a 12 minute film showing an early (1950's) crash test here and see for yourself: http://www.archive.org/movies/details-db.php?collection=prelinger&collectionid=safety_through_seat_belts It shows a crash-test dummy getting thrown about the interior before the door pops open and dumps it out on the pavement and it skids on it's face. FWIW you can minimize blind spots by using your mirrors. Any time you actually have to turn your head you increase the chance of wandering out of your lane. The reason is that your whole body turns and your arms will turn the steering wheel just a bit. You should have mirrors on both sides of your car.
Sorry to hear about your loss, plmczy. My condolences. First thing I did when I got my '63 Galaxie a few years ago was to install seat belts. I discovered that seatbelt mounts were installed from the factory on the chassis. All I had to do was poke a hole through the carpet and bolt them in. The whole job took less than half an hour. Ford first started putting seatbelts in cars in '56, I believe. GM soon after. Not sure about Chrysler products. If anyone has a car from that era and no seatbelts - it might be worth a look at the chassis to see if the mounting points are there already (and solid, of course). Then buy new belts and pop them in. Dave
Very sorry for your loss. I always try to use mine, and can't understand why anyone would not install seat belts. And as far as older cars being safe, even the cheapest new car is way safer than anything built in the 50's. When a dunk ran a red light any pulled onto the highway infront of my sister (she was going 60 mph and didn't have time to touch the brake) her vw golf accordianned all around her. The front crumpled completely flat, the roof was even rippled, even the rear hatch was bent. But the dash only moved about an inch, the pedals barely budged. The entire interior was in almost perfect condition. The body absorbed all the impact like it was engineered to do. The earky 70's lincoln continental the drunk was driving looked like a tank ran into it.
First of my condolances, its hard to loose anyone family is harder. As for seatbelts, if you don't like the modern jobbies, snag an old set of aircraft belts and call it high-performance. I used to think belts were for sissies, but now that I'm older I figured out that being tied in keeps me from slideing off the seat.
FWIW you can minimize blind spots by using your mirrors. Any time you actually have to turn your head you increase the chance of wandering out of your lane. The reason is that your whole body turns and your arms will turn the steering wheel just a bit. You should have mirrors on both sides of your car. [/ QUOTE ] Hey man - I'm not trying to start any trouble here but if you're wandering out of your lane when you check your blind spots there may be some issues that need to be addressed. Rear veiw mirrors are to see if you're about to get smacked from behind, side mirrors are to see if somebody's coming up on your side. Your eyes looking thru the side glass are to see if somebody's beside you in the areas that the mirrors don't show. People die from checking their side mirrors and then changing lanes. People die from being stupid enough to drive in somebody's blind spot and have that person change lanes after only checking their mirrors - vicious circle. Pissed off my ex because I wouldn't let het drive my Bel Air because she couldn't check the blindspots and stay in one lane.
Sorry for your loss plmczy. Too many people think belts are a pain and if they have an airbag worse yet, they figure that will do it. Truth is the air bag can hurt you bad too if the belts aren't used in conjunction. Another aspect to consider about wearing belts are the insurance companys. I know of a guy near here that was in an accident that wasn't his fault and was hurt pretty bad. He wasn't wearing a seat belt and in court the other drivers insurance company got the settlement reduced stating that he would not have gotten hurt so seriously if he had been belted in and the judge and jury agreed. If for no other reason wear them so the insurance company doesnt screw you any worse than they already will.
Plmcrzy, sorry to hear of your loss - our thoughts are with you. Now to jump into the melee! I don't care what you believe/don't believe re: seat belts/air bags/helmets/etc - it's down to personal responsibility and risk management. What I do in my car is up to me so long as I don't unnecessarily endanger someone else. But having the government (at the behest of the insurance companies) tell me I HAVE to wear this or that is preposterous & goes against every grain of being an American - freedom of choice. If I chose to juggle chainsaws, hopefully I know what I'm doing - few would say it's not dangerous, but IT'S MY CHOICE. Should we enact a law to prohibit chainsaw juggling because it's dangerous & you might hurt yourself? Maybe that's too drastic, so we should create a law that requires chainsaw jugglers to wear a kevlar suit so they won't hurt themselves. The chainsaw jugglers of America (CJOA) won't protest as much - we can outlaw it later when they're not looking because IT'S DANGEROUS! If I choose to NOT wear a seatbelt or helmet, it's MY CHOICE. Hopefully, I have assessed the risks & mitigated them where I can, but at the end of the day, it's MY CHOICE. You can Monday-Morning-Quarterback me all you like if I kill myself because I wasn't buckled in, but the truth of the matter is you really don't know what kind of injuries you'll sustain in what kind of crash AND no one goes out intending to crash. It's about risk management & accepting the consequences of your actions. The problem is once you draw a line & say 'everything on this side is OK & everything on that side is bad' you have created a precedent by which more of your freedoms can be eroded. In this case, under the auspices of "the public is too stupid to know what is right for themselves", they've created mandatory seatbelt laws in nearly every state of our little republic. Do you like being told you're too stupid to figure these things out for yourself? Do you really believe if someone is too stupid to figure it out, we're making the gene pool better by saving them from themselves? This nonsense of "if it saves one life" or "you'd think differently if it was your son/daughter/mother/wife/fiance/relative" has got to stop - legislating common sense & judgement is bad politics, bad policy, & results in erosion of our freedoms. Rant over - *donning fireproof suit* - let the flaming begin from the lemmings
Sorry to hear about your loss! I put a lap belt in my car this time for the 1st time. Hope i never have to try it out.
what if you injury or kill someone else by getting thrown out of your car ... then how does "your" freedom of choice have a positive effect on the situation? wearing a seatbelt really isn't that bad... and you do get used to it! also... i like feeling secure and not sliding around all over the bench seat while i'm driving my Hotrod CAB
Flat Ernie - you've just described OUR little "Republic" .... AUSTRALIA !! Here in Oz, it is MANDATORY to wear a seatbelt, if you get spotted by a cop not wearing one, its a $165 fine and 3 points off your license (you have only 12 issued). All this in a "free", "democratic" country. We are over regulated, over legislated and common sense is almost NON EXISTANT. But to give ya'll the real situation, we get this safety bullshit rammed down our throats so often by morons in Govt who "lesgislate" on behalf of "our safety". The Govt have created a whole "new industry" here called the "safety industry"....why, because the Govts perception is that safety sells....gets them votes, and creates a nice little revenue stream. Sure I have seatbelts in my 32 and they are a worthwhile install in your ride, but the freedoms that I took for granted as a kid that are non existant now. Ie: you can't ride a bicycle in Oz without a helmet...a fucking push bike for gods sake. Like if you get collected by a car on a pushbike, a fucking helmet ain't gonna help you trust me. The laws get passed (over legislated), then the media bullshit barrage begins(the propaganda)....the Govt using taxpayers dollars to condition us that we NEED to be protected by them and that we CANT think for oursleves. Oh, and dont get me started on the nifty fines(revenue raising) imposed by the authorities if you dont comply. Like someone stated, its UN-COMMON sense and political correctness as well blatant as revenue raising. Half the shit we got up to as kids in UNHEARD of today.....todays kids will never know what its like to do the shit we used to do, and Im only 3.. The worst of it is...we are creating a whole new generation of kids who cant think for themselves or worse, can't accept responsibility for their actions. Rat ....out
Flat and rat are SO right, I agree 200% but even if we all lived in the same country the three of us together couldn't change any of it. I have finally gotten old enough and wise enough to not let myself worry about things I can't change. I feel better now.
Man, I'm sorry guy's I didn't mean to open up a can of worms with this thread. Like I said I want to meet people from this board face to face not face to headstone. I understand your point about having all these regulations being pushed down our throat's and I agree, but we live in a society full of people that have no common sense and accepts no responsibility for their own actions and it's sad that it has come to that. It seems that his mother was driving to fast and failed to negotiate a turn, traveled 400 feet thru a field, jumped a drainage ditch, and slammed into a tree. plmczy
Hey, sorry to hear about your loss. It's never easy. But you hit the nail on the head with this one. Seatbelts save my ass twice!
Sorry to hear of your loss. I used to teach a driving course using low force driving(avoiding and anticipation of the accident before it happens) and I am also an advocate of seat belt use, To each his own but I still use them..Shoulder belts in my 48 and seat belts in the 55.
TW....Im just lettin u guys know what the state of affairs are here in Oz. I agree that we cant change things even if we wanted to....its too far gone for that. Sorry for the rant, and my condolences to you. Rat
Yeah, not wearing a seatbelt because you're a great driver is a fantastic idea. Lord knows nobody has ever been T-boned by someone running a red light. It's total coincidence that almost all the people killed by those Ford Explorer roll-over accidents died because they were thrown from the vehicle because they weren't wearing their seatbelts--including all the kids, because their braindead parents didn't tell the kids to sit down, shut up and wear the seatbelt a couple of times, until it wasn't an issue anymore and the kid just wore it. None of us has ever slid on the ice, snow or hydroplaned in the rain. Shit, with as smart as we are, I'm surprised they call them "accidents" and not "plans," because every one we've ever been in has been intentional, right? Quick check here--you're traveling down the road at 45 miles per hour, and something happens and your car comes to a dead stop. When your torso slams into the steering wheel and solid, 3/4-inch steel steering rod (that's connected to steering box, which is connected to the frame with stout hardware), is it still traveling at 45 miles per hour? ("A body in motion" and all that.) If the frame gets bent and pushed back 3 inches in that milisecond, how fast is the spear moving toward your body? Second question--when your passenger's face hits the steel dash in the above accident, is it traveling at 45 miles per hour? Third question--what is the speed of an aluminum Louisville Slugger baseball bat being swung at your face by a six year old girl? Answer--a damn slight slower than your face hitting the dash at even 25mph. But I still have no desire to sit in a chair and let the six year step into the box and start taking practice swings. I love all these poeple who bitch about seat belts and helmets. Don't like the laws on the road? Don't drive. It's a privelege, not a right. You know what else? If you're a parent, and you don't wear your seat belt, you're a selfish dumbfuck. Fine, your kid grows up without you. That's almost the worst thing that can happen to them--sure path to behavior problems, school problems, and relationship problems that will affect them their whole life. What's worse? How about your kid watching you grow old, sitting their drooling and shitting yourself because you're only brain damaged. These conversations piss me off. Belts save lives. If you don't want to wear one, I have no problem with the government charging you a stupid tax by way of a ticket. Hell, I'm all for dumb people contributing their hard-earned before checking out. -Brad
I lost my son six years ago when he was thrown out the side window because he didn't wear a seatbelt after hitting a telephone pole. Believe me I know exactly what your family is going through............
Probably a good shoulder restraint/harness type belt setup would be great as most of "our" type rides have a METAL solid dashboard........
Everyone building a car should also consider collapsable steering columns, too. The whole kids not belted in really pisses me off. Especially when you see a small kid in the front seat, unbelted, in a modern airbagged car. Makes me want to drag the parent out and beat the shit out of them. Laws need to be stricter with people like that.
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