Quote:
Originally Posted by jmeckel
There is more to vehicle safety than just seat belts. These cars were never designed to anything close to modern safety specs. If you are installing seat belts, you also need to have seats that do not crush or break under expected impact forces... The seat belts need to be attached to parts of the vehicle that can withstand the amount of force that is going to be placed on them in a "typical" accident. Your anchor points also need to be carefully selected to not distort in a way that causes more injury's by pulling on the belt... and this is just part of the list.
I want to make something clear about my opinion on seat belts. In MODERN cars they save lives, no question. I have 26 years of working on a ambulance and have been at more major accidents than I can remember or count. I have seen seat belts save lives and reduce injury's every time. I have only unbuckled 1 dead body from a seat belt and that was a car that was hit broadside in the drivers door by a fully loaded semi going 55mph.
Having said that I do not think seat belts in a Model A is the best idea unless the placement is engineered and the proper designed mounts are used. The seats are redesigned to take the forces...The amount of forces that come into play in a crash are huge.
Just putting seat belts in an A whatever way they seem to fit best has about as much safety as putting a seat belt on a motorcycle. Not something I would want to wear.
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Jon,
I don't have the experience you have, only drove an ambulance 3 years, but I have been driving 62 years and have seem way too many accidents where people were thrown out of "minor" accidents and badly injured or killed.
I will be driving on backroads, and local US highways at 45 to 50 mph, and NEVER on the interstates and I think a sideswipe where I couldn't get out of the way of the "city guy" who doesn't move back to his side of the road is the BIG danger.
IMHO if it's a minor accident I want to be in a seat belt to keep me in the car. If it's a t-bone or a head-on than I don't think it will matter.
my 2 1/2 cents worth
Ted
I don't know if there's a safe way to put in a belt with over the shoulder belt in a RDSTR PU, but I will seek to find out. If not, a lap belt will be installed.