Seatbelts ...

[Thumper]

I wonder if Trump uses 'em? Or does he look at them like masks during Covid?

I grew up in a time when cars did not have seatbelts. Heck, even race cars only had lap belts, but those weren't even used until the mid-50's (still during my lifetime). I also remember when seatbelts were offered as an EXTRA COST option in passenger cars from the factory and you could also buy them and have them installed at your local gas station (SERVICE stations in those days). I think they became mandatory in 1966, but I don't remember anybody ever using them. We'd just tuck them between the seat cushions to avoid having to sit on them. Heck, it was up to the states to come up with seatbelt laws and I don't think using them was mandatory (in all states) until the mid to late 90's. I'll admit, I was slow to join the seatbelt wearing crowd. It was just an annoyance for most people. I finally started getting with the program, but it was slow and my seatbelt use was sporadic at best.

Then, I was driving one day and came upon an accident that had just happened. I saw a kid walking around in a daze and realized it was a neighbor (I think he was about 14-15 at the time) who lived 2 doors down from us. I then spotted his dad's car, upside down in a yard a ways up the street. It was a crunched up ball of metal (a Mustang II). It turns out he'd drifted off the edge of the road, over-corrected and the car went into a barrel roll. The kid had actually been ejected (no seatbelt) and miraculously, had no major injuries other than walking around dazed and in shock. I pulled his dad out of the car which was a bitch because he was hanging upside down by his seatbelt. He was conscious and talking to me, but couldn't unbuckle the belt due to his weight hanging on it. I was able to lift him up and get him unbuckled so he could crawl out. After looking the car over, it was obvious he most likely would have been killed if it weren't for that seatbelt. That's actually the day something "snapped" in my head and I've religiously worn a seatbelt EVERY time I've been in a car since. Of course, nowadays, it's just a natural thing and I don't even realize I strap in. It's just part of the procedure.

What is the point of this post? I dunno, I guess I might be bored, but there was an accident on a road near my house yesterday. There were three cars involved and each car had only the driver aboard. These weren't kids. One (71 years old) had minor injuries, the other (30 years old) had NO injuries and both were wearing seatbelts. The third driver (56 years old) was dead at the scene and was NOT wearing a seatbelt. I guess he bumped his noggin. That just seems so stupid to me in this day and age.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Haha now that’s a common experience amongst the boomers. I remember riding standing up on the passenger side of the bench seat in our 54 Chevy when I was a little kid. My Mom could stomp on the binders and sling her arm over to catch me at the same time, a skill most Moms could do without thinking.
I also remember the seatbelt discussions when they first started putting them in cars. The consensus among the men in my family at the time was they wanted to be ‘thrown clear’ if they were ever in a serious accident. Seat belts would kill you because you’d be trapped and possibly burn to death.
I had that same attitude until I was in my 20’s. My ex wife was a religious seat belt user and I just got in the habit. I don’t even think twice these days.

BKB

[jb]

My first two cars did not have them 55 Merc and 56 Ford.
As a kid I remember sleeping on the shelf behind the rear seat, right up against the rear window.
Now, it's almost automatic that you click the belt as soon as you sit sit down.

[Chicken Dinner]

Pretty sure seatbelts were an option in the early years and I clearly remember my perch being the folded down front seat armrest when my Pop took us for a Sunday drive.


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[Big Skyz]

I never wore them as a kid unless my parents told me to specifically. However after surviving riding around in taxi's in Korea for a couple years when I was 19-20 years old, I've worn seatbelts ever since. I don't even think about it as it's completely subconscious these days. I was in a bad roll over shortly after moving to Montana and had it not been for wearing a seat belt there is a good chance I wouldn't be typing this right now.

[Chicken Dinner]

I woke up one night at 3am hanging upside down inside a Honda CIVIC that had rolled multiple times. For some reason I’d put my seat belt in that night. My buddy, the driver, had been thrown out the hatchback and was laying in the front yard of the house we’d ended up in. We both had relatively minor injuries which probably wouldn’t have been the case if we’d both gone flying out the back of that car. I haven’t gone as much as a block in the past 35 years without a seatbelt on.


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[Thumper]

Ha ha! Youse dufes reminded me of long forgotten memories. Yep Postie, I remember as far back as my dad's '53 Corvette, standing in the front seat hanging onto the dash. Heck, isn't that why they eventually put handles there?

52 corvette dash.jpg


Also, I vividly remember the same with my mom. Whenever she'd hit the brakes, that right arm would automatically spring into action and slam across the chest of whomever was in the front seat at the time.

Bubba, I'd totally forgotten about that shelf thing. We had 6 kids, so mom always drove a station wagon, but my grandfather drove nothing but Studebaker's and that "shelf" was my normal go-to spot when I rode with him (the seats would be filled with my grandmother and whatever other grandkids were along for the ride). BTW, that shelf was called a "package tray". I remember in those big ol' Studes, that tray seemed as big as my bed at home. I still remember the day I climbed up there for a ride and discovered I'd gone through a major growth spurt and no longer fit. It was a huge disappointment at the time.

Kind'a related and kind'a not, I remember many, MANY times sitting in my dad's lap and steering the car as he worked the pedals. These days he'd be thrown in jail for who knows how many offences, including child abuse charges. Different times, clearly.

[airbud7]

1987 Trans Am upside down T-top glass embedded in my head.....if it weren't for seatbelts I would be headless....Nuff Said.

my two closest buddies "one my brother" don't even get the keys out of their pockets when they get in the truck?....now they're sitting down digging out keys from their pocket?....then a mile down the road/ seat belt warning tone starts dinging!....Grrrr

[Thumper]

my two closest buddies "one my brother" don't even get the keys out of their pockets when they get in the truck?....now they're sitting down digging out keys from their pocket?....then a mile down the road/ seat belt warning tone starts dinging!....Grrrr

Huh???