Anyone drive or ride in a car with automatic seat belts and not use the lap part of the belt?

Signed

Cars with an automatic seat belt were an answer to a federal mandate that all cars have some form of passive restraint. Most car companies installed air bags, but on the low end they did those stupid automatic shoulder belts. (I've driven a car with them for the past 16 year so I know EXACTLY how stupid they are <lol>)

Driving with a shoulder belt alone is a guaranteed ticket to the emergency room if you are ever in an accident. Shoulder belts with out a lap belt were shown in early testing on monkeys to cause serious injuries to the chest and neck at relatively low speeds. They should have never been used, but this is just another example of stupid bureaucrats in action.

There is no sane reason to not buckle the lap belt, its a bother to some, I guess, but it beats punctured lungs.

Fizzle

The lap belt is a MUST. If you're in an accident and only have the diagonal belt on, you can have serious internal injuries and internal bleeding. This won't necessarily be apparent until you go into shock.

Doug K

I have never had those type of seat belts, but I would have to agree that it is extremely dangerous to ride without it. In an accident, a person not wearing the entire belt, will slide under the shoulder strap and hit the dashboard.

I insist that everybody wears a seatbelt and that it is buckled properly, or the car doesn't go into 'drive'. I have sat for a couple minutes for someone to get the point. In my opinion, you either wear a seatbelt, or start walking.

NONAME

If they are over 18 they take their own risks. Under 18 you are responsible for their safety. If they don't want to wear it, your car - your rules. Your insurance is going to have to pay their hospital bills too. If they choose to get hurt worse because they dont like the lap belt, why should you pay for their stupidity?
.

gregthomasparke

I work in a garage, and get vehicles with this style of seat belt every so often. If I am on a test drive while driveing the customer home, or if I am picking them up in thier vehilce (only if they are within reason, and have agreed to letting us use their vehicle to pick them up, if not, a technicians vehicle is used). If I have to drive someone in a vehicle with this seat belt style, or any style for that matter, if the seat belt is not used, or not used correctly, the car is not going to move until the problem is corrected. The same goes for if the customer is driving me back to the shop on thier "test drive" after the service has been completed, If they don't wear it, I don't drive with them. Its not hard, and even the standard style pull across single unit lap and sholder belt styles, arn't that much harder to put on, I find them easier. The only vehilces I don't worry too much about the whole seat belt is vehicle built when seat belts were not important as the times standars indicated, ie, only lap belts, or none at all, or when you are driving on an Ice road (built from Ice over water, no actual roadway) because if the ice gives out, I'm getting out faster then with a seat belt, that is the only time i can actually think of when a seat belt may take a life, even then, its doing its job correctly, its restraining you in your seat in the case of an accident.

I dont wear mine cause its more comfortable to just use the shoulder belt, and more convenient. I mean really, whats the point of having a seatbelt that goes on by itself if you still have to put another one on.

loco_tech85

It depends on the state in which you reside. In NY, if your vehicle is equipped with a lap belt & an automatic belt, you must wear the lap belt. You also have to wear the seat belt correctly (in other words across your torso, not tucked under your arm).

The only exception is if you have a doctor's note specifying a medical condition which prevents you from doing so.

Carrie

I was wondering that same thing but I want to know what has happened to anyone that doesn't wear it adn got in an accident.. I always tell my passengers "if youd ont put the lap part on you'll get beheaded" even though I know that's not true. But what kind of damage does the shoulder belt alone do?

I always wear mine and make sure my passengers know to put theirs on

dds

my car has the seatbelts like that and i always use the lap belt . matter of fact a cop told me its not legal to use just the shoulder straps, u must have the lap belt on also

maria

I never wear my lap belt, because it is uncomfortable for me. I am 4'7", so I have to sit with my seat moved way up,causing the lap part to go up on my tummy. My old car had the same type of belts where the shoulder belt goes on by itself, it was so nice to never have to put it on. Unfortunatly I wrecked that car about 5 months ago, I hydroplaned on a wet road and hit a gaurdrail at about 50 mph. The shoulder belt kept me in my seat just fine, I did not have airbags. My knees smashed the dashboard in, and I had some bruised ribs and a bad bruise where the belt was, but otherwise I am fine. The car I have now has regular belts in it, and I found that I had the same problem with the lap belt being very uncomfortable and I can barely reach back and grab the seatbelt. I will not drive or ride in a car without a seatbelt on, so now I leave the seatbelt fastened and just pull the shoulder one over my head,which I find works very well for a shorty like me.

hot wheels

A good answer coming from a DDC teacher of traffic school is; If the shoulder harness is the only thing on, the body slides at sonic speed and slices off your head and/or nose. (Michael J move over) The body then slides under the dash and onto the floor, and the engine that is already ripped off of the frame, is now coming over you. (How to make a hot, fiery, cream filled Oreo recipe: 1.engine 1.person and 1.back seat)

If just the lap belt is used, it can cut the body in half especially if it is not on the hip bones.

The no brain-er is an experience most people wearing seat belts, along with shoulder harnesses, and 11' from the airbag, "don't experience."

Scientific info: When hitting a fixed object, the Body weighs appx. 5000 lbs at 30mph and 20,000 at 60mph.

So the no brain-ers that don't believe the necessity of seat belts and shoulder harnesses may have received their philosophy from someone that never had brains or lost them in a crash already.

I choose life and thanks for the great intelligent question and observation.

Drive the speed limits and they may work especially if you are in a crash, and it is not a head-on.

Adacadus

There is such thing as an automatic seatbelt?!
There is such thing as an automatic seatbelt that doesn't actually strap you in safely?!

The world's gone made, that's got to be the only answer.

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