Automatic Seatbelts???

[Klandestine]

auto seatbelts were a gimmick and were horrible for safety, someone should have been sued and probably sent to jail

 

[Calin]

I saw once such an automatic seat belt at work. The idea is that you won't use the lap belt (so you were protected less than with the three-point seat belt). I would prefer not to use them, as now putting the manual seat belt is for me a kind of automatic action

 

[Blazin Trav]

I've only seen them in old POS Hondas.

 

[vegetation]

Got one in my mom's old (92) Maxima. Hate it, as it would conk you in the head if you closed the door but had your body leaning towards the window. Lap belt ends up being more difficult to put on than if the whole thing was just attached together manually.

 

[aircooled]

My 91 Corolla had them.

 

[LTC8K6]

There were also those belts that you stepped into as you got in the car. The shoulder belt was attached at the top rear of the door, the lap belt near the bottom rear. They both reeled out as you opened the door, then you stepped into them and sat down, and you were belted in both lap and shoulder.

I don't think they were around long. They were on older GM cars.

 

[Tylanner]

Novelty

 

[Schadenfroh]

92 villager had them

 

[Calin]

I saw them on a Ford Probe, it looked built sometimes in the 90's. I saw one also in an american movie, so I wasn't so surprised to see one working

Calin

 

[MrBond]

My sister's Saturn had them, she claims that if you don't buckle the lap belt, you can be decapitated by the shoulder belt in an accident. Not sure if I believe that, but they sure were a pain in the ass.

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP
i hate those things

 

[randomlinh]

i too dislike them. i tend to forget the lap belt. but then again, i rarely ever sit in a car w/ auto belts. but i still remember a couple of comments from people who i noticed didn't do their lap belt... "oh this is enough"... riiigh.. you'll be crammed under the glove compartment instead of through the windshield

 

[Amused]

They are yet another testament to the knee-jerking safety police in our society and how they can often do more harm than good.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Forsythe
I recently heard of things that make your chicken like you want it, isntead of an oven. Surprised as hell.

Are you refering to shake'n'bake?

 

[B00ne]

Originally posted by: Colt45
http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~tford/seatbelt1.jpg

the top rail (inline with arch of the door) moves back and forth when you open the door. This is just the shoulder part.

the lap belt part still has to be done manually, so I see no point in it whatsoever - is lap belt much easier to do up than lap+shoulder?

This looks very dangerous - The belt does not seem to be adjustable in the height and worse the buckle thing iof the diagonal belt (the motorized part) seems to be at the same heigt level as the head - u better dont have a side impact or any lateral force in a crash for that matter.

 

[psiu]

Our Maxima has them. I hate them.

 

[GreenGhost]

They were discontinued because most people forget the lap belt, and they are useless without it. Probably they thought it could give some degree of protection, while forcing people to wear the belts, thus creating the habit. At that time, much less people used to wear belts.

Fear from litigation made the co.s to go back to the old design.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: GreenGhost
They were discontinued because most people forget the lap belt, and they are useless without it. Probably they thought it could give some degree of protection, while forcing people to wear the belts, thus creating the habit. At that time, much less people used to wear belts.

Fear from litigation made the co.s to go back to the old design.

No, the law stated that they had to have either automatic restraints, or airbags. Towards the end, many makers had automatic shoulder AND lap belts. But people hated them and prefered airbags.

Automatic restraints was not a dealer choice. It was mandated by the government.

 

[Casawi]

Come on I am from Africa and I new that (3rd world country) where have you been or did you just discover internet ??

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: Klandestine
auto seatbelts were a gimmick and were horrible for safety, someone should have been sued and probably sent to jail

They weren't so much a gimmick as they were compliance to the law. In 1988, all new cars in the US had to have some type of "passive restraint" or airbag. If you'll notice, usually the cars with automatic seatbelts do not have airbags. It was some manufacturer's (VW, Ford, Chrysler products, etc.) way of avoiding adding a costly airbag to the cars.

 

[dullard]

My 1991 Toyota Tercel had them, and it was done properly. Instead of a sliding belt that could break and isn't as securely attached, the Tercel had it permantenly in one location on the door. No moving parts, nothing to break. Open the door and sit down, when the door closes, the shoulder belt is on and as secure as any regular shoulder belt.

Benefit: Insurance cost was about half that of similar cars without it.

Drawback: People who didn't know about it were confused and always attempted to wriggle their way over the belt (nearly impossible) while getting into the car. They just can't understand the concept of opening the door and sitting down as normal.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: dullard
My 1991 Toyota Tercel had them, and it was done properly. Instead of a sliding belt that could break and isn't as securely attached, the Tercel had it permantenly in one location on the door. No moving parts, nothing to break. Open the door and sit down, when the door closes, the shoulder belt is on and as secure as any regular shoulder belt.

Benefit: Insurance cost was about half that of similar cars without it.

Drawback: People who didn't know about it were confused and always attempted to wriggle their way over the belt (nearly impossible) while getting into the car. They just can't understand the concept of opening the door and sitting down as normal.

Yep same thing with my 92' corolla. No one can figure it out. They always remove the belt or try to crawl under it. It's not that fvcking difficult! Yeah and when I tell them about the lapbelt, they say the shoulder one is enough and don't bother with it. And those are the same people that tell me to drive more safetly while I'm giving them a ride(my grandma).