Pickup Owners: Do you buckle up?

[GManBart]

Back on 1988 I was a passenger in my own car. ( IROC Camaro ) We hit black going maybe 45/50 mph. Car spun into oncoming traffic and was hit directly on the passengers door by a car coming the other way. The impact pushed the inside of the door over the passengers seat and hit the driver on his right shoulder. I was ejected out of the TTop. Has I been wearing a seat belt, no doubt I wouldn't be here today. I still don't wear one today.

Statistical anomaly.

In nearly 20 years of law enforcement work I've seen exactly one body belted in. That was a scenario somewhat similar to what you described, although the driver of the fatal vehicle ran a red arrow. None of the other bodies were belted in.

 

[GManBart]

Much like Bird, I had a belt save my life years ago. I was 17, driving to school and had a tire problem that led to my car hitting a large oak tree head on at almost 40mph (tree was 2ft off the side of the road). When I got in the wrecker I put my seat belt on, and noticed the driver smiling at me. He said "good boy, that saved you a trip to the hospital, or the morgue." Needless to say, if it's farther than the end of the driveway, I put my belt on.

As I said in the previous post, I've seen a lot of bodies from auto accidents, and only one of them was belted in.

 

[oldpilgrim]

20 years or so ago, we had referendum ballots a year or so apart, asking if we should have a seat belt law. Both times the people of the state overwhelmingly said 'No'. The next year, the legislature passed one regardless of the will of the people. The guess is that they were bought off by the insurance companies.

Ma is famous for having binding referendums and ignoring them.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Quote Originally Posted by Tomtint View Post
Back on 1988 I was a passenger in my own car. ( IROC Camaro ) We hit black going maybe 45/50 mph. Car spun into oncoming traffic and was hit directly on the passengers door by a car coming the other way. The impact pushed the inside of the door over the passengers seat and hit the driver on his right shoulder. I was ejected out of the TTop. Has I been wearing a seat belt, no doubt I wouldn't be here today. I still don't wear one today.

Statistical anomaly.

maybe... but back in 1971, my wife was a passenger in a car that got hit in the passenger side by a car doing better than 40mph. The car was pushed sideways so the rear quarter was crushed by a telephone pole. She was thrown sideways into the driver's lap. Bruised badly down her whole left side. My 2 year old son was in the back on the driver's side but nothing broken. After the collision, the front and back seats were only half as wide as they were before the wreck. My son had minor bruises, not enough for him to even cry.

Driver got a few bruises.

If either were strapped in, they'd both be gone. The car was a 1960 Ford Falcon. Most cars didn't have seat belts back then, thankfully, in my case.

 

[Howling]

I wear seat belt in car, truck and on tractor.

Firm believer in safety equipment. 33 years I got hit by a car. Without the bike helmet I would not be here today.

 

[JPRambo]

I wear mine n my truck. My 64 chevy does not have them and my B7100 does not have them.

 

[fidowanttobe]

We wear them all the time. Funny feeling when its not on even on the tractor, so often wear it on him too. Just not when its on/off on/off repeat. The eject won't hurt as bad as the rolling 3000lbs coming after me with spinning blades!

 

[TerryR]

I've been wearing them in my road vehicles since my first car in 1957, when I had to install them because my used Plymouth didn't have them factory installed. I wear one on my tractor in the field lots of some steep places, and when blading the driveway which has a substantial drop-off on one side.

 

[GManBart]

maybe... but back in 1971, my wife was a passenger in a car that got hit in the passenger side by a car doing better than 40mph. The car was pushed sideways so the rear quarter was crushed by a telephone pole. She was thrown sideways into the driver's lap. Bruised badly down her whole left side. My 2 year old son was in the back on the driver's side but nothing broken. After the collision, the front and back seats were only half as wide as they were before the wreck. My son had minor bruises, not enough for him to even cry.

Driver got a few bruises.

If either were strapped in, they'd both be gone. The car was a 1960 Ford Falcon. Most cars didn't have seat belts back then, thankfully, in my case.

There have always been cases like that, but I don't think we're really discussing cars that are 50+ years old.

There really isn't any comparison between cars from that era and anything made in the last 20 years or so. They've even done crash comparisons to show how massive the improvements have been. Even big, heavy, "all steel" cars from the past are nowhere near as safe as normal cars today.

Crash Test 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air VS. 29 Chevrolet Malibu (Frontal Offset) IIHS 5th Anniversary - YouTube

 

[hawkeye08]

I never wear the tractor seat belt because it constantly ratchets tighter. The seat belt in the Kioti is even worse.

I have a 99cent clamp I use to keep the tractor seatbelt from ratcheting too tight..