here in iowa its a $25 ticket and a moving violation, three moving violations in three months means loss of license, already got another seatbelt ticket i was leaving work and putting it on as i drove out the parking lot cop saw me pulled me over and gave me the ticket, then a reckless driving ticket prom night for spinning my tires at the dance, the spinning the tires i can understand but the seatbelt one is just bs, and i always have the shoulder belts tied up tight cause i had one fly out the window and smack the side of my car from being swept up by the wind

 

I remember standing on the front bench between my parents when I was a kid. An old Dodge Aspen, and when it came time for the brake's, my dad would reach his arm across my chest to make sure I didn't fly out the windshield.Well, decades later, I'm stilll alive and kickin.

I definitely wouldn't even think about doing it that with my kids, even if it wasn't illegal! It feels so strange to sit in my 65 and reach for a "regular" shoulder belt, and then realize that its not there.

 

I didn't read many posts after, but Nabster, the shoulder harness in the 69's are very sturdy and go into a bracket on the roof rail, its not mickey mouse. I wear mine all the time, but have it adjusted loosely so I can check my blind spot and such. However if they really are that faded I can see you might be concerned, but they should be fine as long as the webbing isn't messed up, car restoration places simply restore seat belts by re-dying them.

Everyone that gets in my car and notices the 2 buckels are like wth? haha and they always manage to get it backwards.

good luck fighting the ticket OP

 

In Michigan if you have a shoulder belt, you have to wear it. You can get a ticket even if you wear the shoulder belt under your arm. The law says you have to properly wear it. Not sure what the law says in your state, but in Michigan, if you take this to court, you will lose, have to pay the ticket, and court costs.

 

I have lived in Montana, Washington state, and now Texas and all the seat belt laws have been pretty much the same...

1) If the car has a factory installed restraint system it must be used. Most judges see this as meaning the ENTIRE system must be used if it is available and functional. My '68 has the same type of system as mentioned above. The lap belt and shoulder harness use two different latches. I was told twice (while being stopped for "other offenses" related to speed...LOL!) that I needed to use the shoulder harness if it worked and was in good condition. I got warnings both times (at least for the seat belt thing). As for saying it is not in good condition and that is why it was not being used, the predictable response is "Then you need to get it fixed" as it is a legal requirement. Interstingly the law applies to air bags as well as seat belts. The only "legal" reason to disable an air bag is to facilitate the use of a child car seat.

2) If the the car does not have a factory installed restraint system...obviously you don't have to use one. HOWEVER...most seat belt laws read that if a restraint system is installed in a vehicle not originally equipped with one, the restraint system must be used. Once the restraint system is installed it is considered the same as if it came from the factory in terms of the law. This also means if you add a restraint system to a car not originally equipped with one it then becomes illeagal to remove or disable it, just as it is illeagal to remove or disable a factory installed system. I'm not sure how this could be enforced unless you got stopped by the same cop, once with the aftermarket system in and once after you had removed it.

 

damn, to bad mines a '65 ... id be except haha

 

here in iowa the court cost is already added to the ticket regardless whether you go to the hearing or not which i think is bull to

 

i know my 68 has both. when i was a teenager i had a 69 (god rest her soul) and it had both.

my buddy had a 67 with just a lapbelt and he was constantly getting stopped for not having his belt on (lap belt only)

 

well not in a mustang, but we had just got my buddys 66 dodge coronet finished and on the road...taking the first official ride in it. it looked good and it was a perfect day for a drive, plus the ladies were out and about , lol. a cop pulled up on us and rouind our day by trying to ticket us for not wearing seatbelts. the car was a 66 and seat belts were an option on mopars then, so it did not have em. he was told to put seatbelts in the car, and the cop left.he never put em in , and ended up sellin it ne ways. but you HAD abelt on, lap or not its stil a seatbelt.

 

I dont know what state your in, but in california for classics, you only need to have what came from the factory for the vehicle. If the factory did not install belts, belts were not required. Go to court, the officer made a mistake becuase he did not know the law.