sethalot

im a little ticked right now i got pulled over and given a seat belt ticket while wearing my lap belt, the officer said i was required to wear both the lap belt and the shoulder harness, has this happened to any of you?, im going to the appointed court date and would just like some info as to whether im in the right on this or i should just drop it[sm=proof.gif]

HGC

Depends on what state you are in. In Illinois I think pre 1974 cars are exempt from the shoulder harness requirement. I have never had any trouble.

Just went and checked. In Illinois cars prior to 1965 is exempt from any seat belt law. All other specify "Safety Seat Belt." To me, that translates to shoulder harness not required.

Interestingly, in Illinois you do not have to wear your "Safety Seat Belt" if you are in reverse.

rmodel65

seat belt= the seat belt

shoulder harness= the shoulder harness

i wouldnt pay it but thats just me, I would rather go sit in court ofr a few mins than pay something like that, if i was you i would remove the shoulder harness [8D]

sethalot

i live in iowa and was looking it up and it just says that im required to wear a safety harness it doesnt specifically say shoulder harness, im pretty sure it will be dropped but its just annoying to be given tickets like that, just a waste of time and it cut into my cruise time by like an hour[sm=WTFsgign.gif] and yeah i read that forward thing to i thought that was a little strange

Adrenolin

I'm guessing this happened while in the 69 coupe. Does it have just the stock lap belts or is there also a 3-point setup installed. If you only have the lap belts well.. how the hell are you supposed to be expected to use something thats not there. However, if you have a 3-point with shoulder strap installed then its more then likely law to use them. Buddy of mine years ago drove a Honda CRX, I think it was, which had automatic shoulder belts that could be unclipped from the door. It slid forward in a track when door was opened and then slid back to the person in the seat when the door closed. He got a number of tickets because he'd wear the lap belt and unclip the shoulder belt. Judge on 2 occasions stated that since they were installed in the car he by law had to use the "complete belt system".

Granted, this was an 80s Honda but I'd say it still applies to the older classics as well. That or lie and say they are not properly installed and are for show only.

Sucks though.. Hope you beat it!

66JameStang

+1 on if you don't have a shoulder strap how are you supposed to wear one. I believe if you do have one that some will say it must be worn, but at the same time by wear the lap belt you are technically still wearing a seat belt and are following the law? I also think in most states there is a date rule when it comes to types of safety harnesses.

andrewmp6

I love kentucky 1981 and newer only years you can get a no seat belt ticket.I had something like that happen to me once rookie cop pulled me over in the 65 impala i had and got a no seat belt ticket the car never came with them.So went to court the judge laughed at the cop and dismissed the ticket.Id go to court over it if they still make you pay the ticket ask them to define safety harness and your car only came with lap belts and say it would lower your cars value to put shoulder harness on it you know lie to them lol.

66JameStang

+1 just say shoulder harnesses are for Women! Just kidding I wish I actually had them wouldn't want to loose my teeth in the steering wheel just in case something does happen!

rmodel65

the biggest concern i have with the 65 is the solid steering shaft, nothing else

Nabster

'69 models have a lap belt, and a shoulder harness. Two separate things, it's not just a lap belt or a 3-point system. I don't have a better pic at the moment, but this one works, if you look at the top of the door opening on either side you see the shoulder harness, that latches into a second lap belt system- in the passenger seat is one for the lap belt, if you look on the floor in front of the seat by the shifter you see the second one. I guess technically it is a 3-point system, but it's physically 4 different belts you connect together.

I do not use my shoulder harness for a few reasons, first I do not trust it, seems dangerous to have that old stationary shoulder belt and a big latch held to your chest, not to mention it seems odd to have that secured somewhere up in the roof panel (though I haven't personally seen behind the headliner to see what exactly it is anchored to. Second, I can't by any easy means get the damn things out of the little rubber holders, it's like they're glued in there. And third, as you can clearly see they are quite faded, and probably won't function as designed due to deterioration, it's probably the same for the OP.

Anyway, fight that ticket. When the car was built, they weren't compulsory to wear, in fact it was a pretty new thing for them to be standard equipment. Second, the lap belt will do more good than the shoulder harness. I've never been pulled over for it yet, and if I were that ticket would be fought the whole way. Good luck with it. Worse comes to worse, pay the ticket, then go home and un-mount the shoulder thing, in the event it happens again, it will be obvious that you can't wear them if your car doesn't have them


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