Seat Belts -n- Seat Belt Tickets

[ashx2]

Oh how I love these old trucks!!!! I got pulled over by a DPS officer yesterday (a young fella eager to do his job), and he says to me, "The reason I pulled you over, was for failure to wear a seat belt."

I said, "You mean like this one?? (pointing to my lap belt)"

I could see he was a little dumbfounded and embarrassed and could tell he was looking for anchors where a shoulder belt would be on the newer vehicles.

I said, "Was that all you were needing or was there something else?"

"Uh, no sir, that's all. It just looked like you didn't have a seat belt on when I passed you. You be safe and have a nice day," he said.

As I pulled away, I thought......I LOVE MY TRUCK.....I LOVE MY TRUCK!!!!

I know seat belts are important and that they do truly save lives......but it burns my butt to have someone "make" or "require" me wear one. I guess it's just my little way of "stickin' it to the man"!

Greg

[1SIK69]

About 12 years ago when I owned a 69 LWB Super Cheyenne I got pulled over by the Grand Prairie PD. They did the same thing but argued with me telling me I needed shoulder belts. He pulled out his book and found he was wrong. I drove away laughing.

[lowriden58]

glad he was doing his job i feel naked if i dont wear a seat belt, its just second nature to put it on. there are alot of people who dont wear their seat belts and pay the ultimate price for it

[67-C10]

That is funny. If you got pulled over by a statey in Mass he'd probably still give me a ticket though. 2 months back boston traffic a guy was driving his wife to the hospital in labor and was taking some liberties with driving in the breakdown lane cause of traffic they got pulled over by 2 stateys and let continue. The third one made them stop and wait while he finished filling out a ticket for someone else and then gave them one after making the lady prove she as pregnant.

[jbristo67]

Originally Posted by 67-C10

That is funny. If you got pulled over by a statey in Mass he'd probably still give me a ticket though. 2 months back boston traffic a guy was driving his wife to the hospital in labor and was taking some liberties with driving in the breakdown lane cause of traffic they got pulled over by 2 stateys and let continue. The third one made them stop and wait while he finished filling out a ticket for someone else and then gave them one after making the lady prove she as pregnant.

They would have just had to follow me to the hospital and write me a ticket there.

[tcb-1]

gotta make that state revenue.....

[haysonj]

Not sure on the year that seat belts went from an option to required but my 69 did not even have lap belts. I installed them myself.

[big_al_71]

seems like at least he was doing his job....

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by haysonj

Not sure on the year that seat belts went from an option to required but my 69 did not even have lap belts. I installed them myself.

If so, it is because someone took them out before you got ahold of the truck.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Act of 1966 mandated the use of seatbelts, among other things. These standards went into effect almost immediately. The '67 model year vehicles were so equipped, but many of the vehicles produced before the law went onto effect already had seatbelts. They were available as early as the 1950s in some vehicles....and the way I understand it, if the vehicle was originally equipped with them you must retain them, even if it was before the legal requirement.

[vexvader]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

If so, it is because someone took them out before you got ahold of the truck.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Act of 1966 mandated the use of seatbelts, among other things. These standards went into effect almost immediately. The '67 model year vehicles were so equipped, but many of the vehicles produced before the law went onto effect already had seatbelts. They were available as early as the 1950s in some vehicles....and the way I understand it, if the vehicle was originally equipped with them you must retain them, even if it was before the legal requirement.

................................................................................

We have good old Ralph Nader and his book "Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile", published in 1965, to thank for seat belts.

Check this out if you are intrestred:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsafe_at_Any_Speed

Vex

[Longhorn Man]

haysonj... your truck came with seat belts. Every 67 - 72 chevy 10 - 30 series pickup had 2 lap belts at a minimum.

Now if you are ever rolling down the road, and a femail officer (or MP) puulls up beside you and tugs on her seatbelt while looking at you.... do not....
I REPEAT.. DO NOT...
Point down into your lap to her femail officer.


Take my work for this one guys.... trust me.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

Now if you are ever rolling down the road, and a femail officer (or MP) puulls up beside you and tugs on her seatbelt while looking at you.... do not....
I REPEAT.. DO NOT...
Point down into your lap to her femail officer.


Take my work for this one guys.... trust me.

Ohhh Noooo.....Did she stop to get a better look?

My feelings on the matter...I would rather not be pulled over for nothing.I think cops have more important tasks than worry aboutr protecting ourselves from ourselves.There`s another thread where a car got it`s wheels and stereo stolen and how the cops don`t have time to worry about alarms.I`d hate to think that`s because they`re lookin`for seatbelt violators.

I knew the time would come,once belt laws came out,the young cops wouldn`t realize no shoulder belts were used before a certain time and we`d be getting stopped.I just got pulled over last week because the officer didn`t think I was wearing the belt.

[Livrat]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

haysonj... your truck came with seat belts. Every 67 - 72 chevy 10 - 30 series pickup had 2 lap belts at a minimum.

Now if you are ever rolling down the road, and a femail officer (or MP) puulls up beside you and tugs on her seatbelt while looking at you.... do not....
I REPEAT.. DO NOT...
Point down into your lap to her femail officer.


Take my work for this one guys.... trust me.

LOL... Andy I just spit my coffee all over my keyboard..

[project 67 sub]

hahahahha thats great

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

haysonj... your truck came with seat belts. Every 67 - 72 chevy 10 - 30 series pickup had 2 lap belts at a minimum.

Now if you are ever rolling down the road, and a femail officer (or MP) puulls up beside you and tugs on her seatbelt while looking at you.... do not....
I REPEAT.. DO NOT...
Point down into your lap to her femail officer.


Take my work for this one guys.... trust me.

[Kayotic]

Where I live here in Georgia, I can see this as a problem. As stated above, I always (with exception to parking lots)wear my seat belt. Just doesn't feel right without it.

Wonder how they would react to a racing harness?

[Longhorn Man]

well, it's a true story... happened on Ft Hood, a femail MP did this to me. When Ipointed towards my lap with a smug look on my face, she locked up the tires, flipped both lights and sirin on, and pulled me over. She was screaming and yelling at me before she even got up to my window. I wasn't even sure what was going on yet.
I put my hands on the steering wheel and told her to open my door and look... i have my lap belt on.
She ended up laughing after she saw it and realized I was not trying to be an a-hole towards her.

As for the racing belts, they are technicly a no - no. They are not DOT aproved. The feds feel that Mr Average joe doesn't know how to install them, and in reality, in an old pickup, they would be very difficult to install properly. Technicly, this includes adding a 3 point from another vehicle. If the belt was not made for that specific make and model, then it is not required to be recognised as a correct seatbelt. I also learned this one in a Tx anual inspection. I got sent home for improper belts when i first got my truck inspected. I had to downgrade from a racheting 3 point, to the correct lap belt, or stock lap/shoulder belts. The only way I could have gotten around this was if I could prove the installed belts were aproved for that make and model. The inspector showed me the law in the federal DOT safety equipment book.
Now... with all that said, 99.999% of the officers and inspectors wouldn't know unless you said something.
just don't be stupid when installing non stock safety stuff. If someone gets hurt from your unaproved 'upgrade', guess who gets in trouble.
Mark... sorry about your keyboard man.

[MrC1]

Legal requirement or not, I'm about to install shoulder belts in my truck. Bend forward from the waist and see if ou'd like the steering wheel to catch you where it does. I decided "no".

[jbristo67]

Originally Posted by MrC1

Legal requirement or not, I'm about to install shoulder belts in my truck. Bend forward from the waist and see if ou'd like the steering wheel to catch you where it does. I decided "no".

I am putting shoulder belts so my wife will let my little boy ride in my truck

[lowriden58]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

well, it's a true story... happened on Ft Hood, a femail MP

that must be a new breed of cop

[eightbanger]

Originally Posted by ashx2

I know seat belts are important and that they do truly save lives......but it burns my butt to have someone "make" or "require" me wear one. I guess it's just my little way of "stickin' it to the man"!
Greg

Originally Posted by special-K

My feelings on the matter...I would rather not be pulled over for nothing.I think cops have more important tasks than worry aboutr protecting ourselves from ourselves.There`s another thread where a car got it`s wheels and stereo stolen and how the cops don`t have time to worry about alarms.I`d hate to think that`s because they`re lookin`for seatbelt violators.
.

Hallelujah!!!! My life my decision.

[Longhorn Man]

Originally Posted by lowriden58

that must be a new breed of cop

blah blah blah... what ever. female.

There's a reason why I don't correct everyone when they ask about disk breaks or is something is for sell or ever one look here.

[eightbanger]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

blah blah blah... what ever. female..

Yeah female! I might just be forced to change my mind about why I was pointing at my lap...

[OARNGESI]

Im glad you got a chance to stick it to the man

[oldgold70c10]

Oh man!! This thread reminds me of the first time I was driving my '70 around the university where I work. I get pulled over by the campus police and he walks up ral p/off and looks at me and sees my lap belt on and his face instantly chnages. The n he stutters "Do you know your tag has expired?" I tell him it was just renewed a few months ago and he goes to the back of the truck and looks and comes back real disappointed looking and says "Sorry, you have a good afternoon."
He was really trying.....!!!

[ChevLoRay]

Arkansas has just passed a bill and is sending it to the Governor that will make failure to wear a seat belt a primary offense, giving the police a reason to pull you over. Prior to this, it was a secondary offense and they had to have another reason to pull you over.

Some pundits have tried to say that it will give rise to profiling. Sounds like those of us who drive these oldies will have to be sure we have on a lap belt, cause you know we're gonna be targeted by the officers who aren't old enough to know that shoulder belts are a relatively new safety item in the automotive field.