dan@digi-g.UUCP (Dan Messinger) (09/22/84)
My Mustang came equiped with a single piece lap/shoulder belt. Due to the placement of where the shoulderr belt is attached to the car (above the side window of the REAR seat, the belt tended to ride vary high on the passenger. In fact, it rested squarely across my wifes throat! I replaced the belt with a plain lap belt.
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (09/28/84)
Another solution, which can be a pain in two door cars like the Mustang, is to install a clip to hold the belt lower than the strangle position. If you were so hot on modifying your car, why not do it right? It seems from your comments that you believe in seatbelts. -Ron
knutson@ut-ngp.UUCP (Jim Knutson) (09/28/84)
DO NOT use clips to modify the placement of a shoulder belt. Doing this is a potential disaster in an accident. The clip will not hold in an accident, allowing you to travel the extra distance the belt was stretched out from normal before it catches you. This is just like wearing a belt too loose. Results? Broken collar bones, smashed faces, ... Consumer reports has been very picky about cars that use this method of seatbelt placement.
dan@digi-g.UUCP (Dan Messinger) (10/01/84)
>Another solution, which can be a pain in two door cars like the >Mustang, is to install a clip to hold the belt lower than the >strangle position. You already stated part of the reason I didn't put in a clip to hold the belt in a better place. What a pain! A person would have to crawl though the belts to get into the back seat. Also, while the clips may hold the belt in a confortable position to riding, I fear that the stress on inpact would break the clip, allowing the belt to move back to my wife's throat. (Keeping her chest from hitting the stearing wheel isn't real important if her head goes though the windshield anyways ...) There isn't anything structural near the edge of the front seat to secure the clip to, either. (BTW, the original shoulder belt was fine for me at 5'10", but not for people around 5'0"). And regarding the cars that have those clips factory installed. I have seen may of them broken through every day tugging while getting into and out of the seatbelts (or going though them to get to the back seat of a two-door). I would not trust those little clips to hold the belt in a safe place during an accident. In most cars, however, the clips are only used to hold the belt in a convenient place while the belt is not in use, and have little or no effect on the placement of the belt when it is in use. And yes, I am a firm believer in seatbelts. Wouldn't drive around the block without one (as long as it doesn't look like a noose :-) ). Dan Messinger ihnp4!umn-cs!digi-g!dan
haapanen@watdcsu.UUCP (Tom Haapanen [DCS]) (10/03/84)
The problem with the malpositioned shoulder belts is limited to American cars; European and Japanese cars have the seat belt spool mounted on the floor, with a loop (?) on the door post for the shoulder belt. This allows infinitely better positioning than having the spool (or the other end, for that matter) on the ceiling. Maybe you should write a letter to GM/Ford/Chrysler and tell them to get their act together. Unless, of course, you are looking forward to buying airbags in your next car. The other possible (good!) solution is the purchase of aftermarket seatbelts. If you just want a lap belt, there are many good 3-inch wide (7.6 cm :-) lap belts available. If you're willing to forego a bit of convenience, get a four-point competition system, as these truly hold you in place, be it in cornering or in an accident. If the airbags become mandatory (in which case it'll be bye-bye three-point belts), I believe many enthusiasts will be purchasing this type of systems for their new cars. When you're driving fast and furious, it is dangerous having to hang on to the steering wheel so that you don't slide around (and out of) your seat. Tom Haapanen University of Waterloo (519) 744-2468 allegra \ clyde \ \ decvax ---- watmath --- watdcsu --- haapanen ihnp4 / / linus /
dan@digi-g.UUCP (Dan Messinger) (10/05/84)
>The problem with the malpositioned shoulder belts is limited to >American cars; European and Japanese cars have the seat belt spool >mounted on the floor, with a loop (?) on the door post for the >shoulder belt. This allows infinitely better positioning than having >the spool (or the other end, for that matter) on the ceiling. I basically agree. My Mustang, however, has the belt spool mounted low and inside the wall, with just a loop to pass the belt through mounted near the ceiling. This loop is mounted too high! And actually, I have only noticed this problem in Fords. My wife has had no problems with the seatbelts of Toyotas, Hondas, Chevettes, AMC Concords, and our full size Blazer. All of these vehicles that I am familiar with have mounted the loop in a proper (lower) position that works well for short people. One note about the Chevette. The loop is mounted to the end of an ~8 inch steel bar that holds the loop down from the ceiling. The bar is swivel mounted so it does not obstruct the doors when getting into the car. If I had thought of this eight years ago, I would have attempted to install a simialar device in my Mustang. But even the auto makers had not though of this eight years ago..... :-) And while I'm in the process of flaming Ford's designs, another thing I don't like is the headrests. (or has this been discussed already) I thought that head rests were meant to reduce whiplash during an accident. The headrests in my Mustang are positioned 6 to 8 inches behind the drivers head. I was rear-ended a while back (not seriously, but I did have a sore neck for a few days) and I don't think my head came close to hitting the headrest. I have noticed the same thing in other Fords. In non-Ford vehicles, the headrests are only 1 or 2 inches behind the drivers head. This seems much more functional. Is it really only Ford that mounts the headrests so far back? Is there a good reason for mounting headrests 6 to 8 inches behind the drivers head instead of 1 to 2 inches? (I bet some of you are wondering why I ever bought this Mustang that I complain about so much. Well, I didn't. It was my wife's before we were married.) Dan Messinger ihnp4!umn-cs!digi-g!dan