Wagons and Seatbelts

[9t3lightning]

Did the wagons ever get shoulder belts in the back seats? I'm amazed in 1987 they still used lap belts for the back seat??
Just trying to see whats out there for my 2 young sons.. Lap belts arent the best..

[Nathan in MI]

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure they didn't until 1990; at least that's when sedans got them. As for the safety of lap belts...I dunno, I grew up in cars that only had lap belts in the rear, and I'm fine. Granted, I was never in an accident with them, but...lol

[marquisman]

only the 1990-91 wagons had the sholder belt

[9t3lightning]

thanks..
I remember growing up without seatbelts!
I use to climb from the back to the front in my pops
galaxie wagon in the 60's
But now with all the laws and all, I just want to make sure the kids are safe... But most likley anything i hit, the 2 ton wagon should win!
Unless i'm going up against my excursion or a semi

[85MercPark]

only the 1990-91 wagons had the sholder belt

Wonder how hard it would be to add that?

Any one have any pics?

[marquisman]

i thing you jus need the belt, rear plastic panels out of a 90-91 wagon and a mounting area for the belt since its a 3 point. i used to have a 91 wagon and it wasent too much differnt

[85MercPark]

I will have to keep a look out for that. I suppose the third point would need welded in place.

[1987cp]

I'd not known about wagons getting rear shoulder belts. How old are the little dudes?

[9t3lightning]

My little dudes are 8 and 3, the 3 yr old is fine since he's in a car seat, its my 8 year old now in the back seat.. Time to cut and weld some mounts into the 87 from a 91....

[85MercPark]

Pics and document if you do this.

Thanks

[torquelover]

My little dudes are 8 and 3, the 3 yr old is fine since he's in a car seat, its my 8 year old now in the back seat.. Time to cut and weld some mounts into the 87 from a 91....

Once the 3-yr old is ready for a booster, he's going to need a shoulder strap.

[Lincolnmania]

i hauled my kid home from the hospital in the back of my 84 vic.....shoulder belts in the rear more pussification of the usa personally i dont wear seat belts....they are dangerous

[85MercPark]

Yea, just ask Princess Diana, oh yea, right...


The tragic death of Princess Diana of Great Britain is great cause for mourning and sadness. But it is also a moment for reflection. I am very troubled over the recent media attention, which is focusing on contributory issues to the accident. They are neglecting to include one of the most important factors in the debate: that those who didn't wear seatbelts died.
These are some of the disturbing facts that have emerged which are not being seriously discussed in the press:

• all occupants died that did not wear a seat belt
• Mr. Jones, the single occupant who lived, wore a seat belt
• Mr. Jones was also reported to have the radiator on his lap when rescue workers freed him, indicating the tremendous force of the impact (it must be noted that it was also reported that nothing penetrated the bullet-proof windshield, either entering or exiting the vehicle, which appears to contradict this statement)
• Mr. Jones, who was sitting in the death seat, sustained non-life-threatening head, face, and lung injuries, all commensurate with wearing one's seat belt.
• the Princess and Mr. Al Fayed sustained significant traumatic injuries commensurate with those of unbelted passengers thrown into the back of the front seats at a tremendous force.

In head-on car crashes, unbelted back-seat passengers not only risk injury or death to themselves, but also to the driver seated in front of them, according to University at Buffalo researchers.

Their “sled-test” studies simulating head-on crashes with crash-test dummies demonstrated the likelihood of severe head and chest trauma for driver and passenger caused by an unbelted passenger slamming into the seat of a belted driver.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s an adult-sized person seated behind you, a small child, or even if you have packages or luggage placed in the seat behind you, if they are not belted or safely secured, they can inflict fatal injuries to a driver,” said lead researcher James Mayrose, adjunct assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Deadly teen auto crashes show a pattern

By Jayne O'Donnell, USA TODAY

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — It was a double date like countless others: Two teenage girls and their teenage boyfriends, with plans to see a movie on a summer night.

Ashley Thompson, 16, died in this accident involving a Jeep Cherokee in Fairfax County, Va., in 2003.

But this one ended in grief. Sixteen-year-old Gerald Miller swerved his sport-utility vehicle to miss a car stalled on Interstate 95. The SUV, traveling about 78 mph, rolled five times. The boys were injured. The girls — Casey Hersch, 16, and Lauren Gorham, 15 — were thrown from the SUV and died.

To many who knew the victims, the crash seemed like a cruel act of fate, a freak tragedy beyond anyone's control. But it fit a common formula for teen deaths on the USA's roadways: Put a 16-year-old boy at the wheel of an SUV. Add two or three teens, including at least one other boy. Send them out at night. Finally, let them travel fast — and unbelted.

[Chris84]

in 2009 some European Union Idiots will force a new law that says that all cars must have shoulder belts in the rear...
oh, what a funny thing... how about old cars?

so let me know when the belt-swap is done

[1987cp]

Deadly teen auto crashes show a pattern

By Jayne O'Donnell, USA TODAY

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — It was a double date like countless others: Two teenage girls and their teenage boyfriends, with plans to see a movie on a summer night.

Ashley Thompson, 16, died in this accident involving a Jeep Cherokee in Fairfax County, Va., in 2003.

But this one ended in grief. Sixteen-year-old Gerald Miller swerved his sport-utility vehicle to miss a car stalled on Interstate 95. The SUV, traveling about 78 mph, rolled five times. The boys were injured. The girls — Casey Hersch, 16, and Lauren Gorham, 15 — were thrown from the SUV and died.

To many who knew the victims, the crash seemed like a cruel act of fate, a freak tragedy beyond anyone's control. But it fit a common formula for teen deaths on the USA's roadways: Put a 16-year-old boy at the wheel of an SUV. Add two or three teens, including at least one other boy. Send them out at night. Finally, let them travel fast — and unbelted.

Pretty hard to feel sympathy, isn't it? For the longest time I couldn't for the life of me figure out how a passenger could possibly be "ejected" from a vehicle during a collision ..... because, you know, anyone in their right mind is wearing a seatbelt, and seat belts kind of tend to keep you secured to your seat .... (I know, I'm harsh ....)

LM, I'm kind of surprised you're a non-seatbelt-wearer. Obviously, that can work fine if you're never in a potentially life-threatening collision, but then, there are also the freak stories of unbelted passnegers who bounced out of the way of a crushed roof or something. What are your reasons?