Re: SER1 To Seat Belt or Not To Seat Belt

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My humble opinion is that you can use the Series 3 brackets to fit inertia
reel belts if you have a hard top. I have done that and they do work very
well. Otherwise use the racing type harness and fix it best way you can.
Anything is better than nothing whatever the rules say. By all means remove
them before the test because I should imagine in most countries if fitted
they have to comply and certainly have to be worn. The ones I fitted in a
canvas top 88" only ever seem to get a brief check by the tester and I have
never been queried on the strength of the anchor points.

I spent 20 years in the Fire Brigade rescuing people from crashed vehicles.
Most of those not wearing belts were dead and the few not would have been
badly scarred for life.

I will always remember the first one I attended. A Morris Minor car hit an
Austin Mini pick up van head on.  The guy in the Morris was unconcious and
died the same evening. He didn't go through the winscreen but hit his chest
on the steering wheel. His legs were fractured (so we heard later) in 15
places. There was a hole in his chest you could put your fist in. The
steering wheel and spokes were bent flat along the column like an inside out
umbrella. The Morris didn't have belts, but the Mini did and were being
worn.

You have to remember all the idiots on the roads go faster than you and are
sitting in padded cars with lots of safety features the old Land Rovers just
don't have. The forces involved in any collision are far greater than you
ever imagine unless you have actually been invloved and survived to tell the
tale. Think of yourself hitting that solid steering column or your
passenger's head on the dash at just 40mph. If the guy coming the other way
is only doing the same, the energy involved means it's an 80mph crash.

Regards

Martin

----- Original Message ----- 
From: RUJAMESH
To: series1@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 2:56 AM
Subject: SER1 To Seat Belt or Not To Seat Belt


Yes, in Australia, we are mad.

I have just contacted our state's governing body on vehicle registration,
the RTA (Roads and Traffic Authority) in relation to the regulations about
having seat belts fitted to my 1951 S1.

The regulation is that "if seat belts were not fitted at time of production,
you do not need to install them now to get it registered"

If you do fit them - "you need to have an engineers report" - normally by an
authorised seat belt installer.

Then you can obtain a Blue Slip (unregistered vehicle roadworthy inspection
report) before you can get the vehicle registered. This then turns into a
Pink Slip (annual vehicle inspection report) every year after that.

But, before you can get the vehicle registered, you need a Green Slip
(compulsory 3rd party insurance - covers the other driver if your brakes
fall from speeding and you hit them)

Now, armed with the following;

a piece of paper saying that your the owner of the vehicle, relevant VIN
numbers, make, model details etc
Engineers Report
Blue Slip
Green Slip
a hip flask of whisky just in case you've wasted a day

and your credit card.

You can then walk out with a set of plates to then work out where you are
going to fit them (they are wider than the front wing panel and the rear
side panel).

So, do you trust everybody else on the road, or do you fit a 5 point racing
harness with optional crash helmut for when your hurtling down the freeway
at 75 km/h (45m/h) while everyone else is doing 110km/h (66m/h) plus past
you.

Even our local streets are not safe, 3 teenagers were killed last night in a
back street close to where I live, after their car was torn in half after
hitting a telegraph pole (ours are still made of wood) in a 50km/h (30m/h)
residential zone. It doesn't matter what safety features are built into a
car - speed is a killer.

I think I might be fitting lap belts when mines back on the road, especially
if the kids want to travel in it when finished.

As some people have said, if you hit something or roll the vehicle, they
didn't have much chance back then, so what's the difference now???

Therefore, Australia's are mad, we love paddock bashing and driving through
the bush chasing kangaroos, emus and boar's (wild pig).

You can camp in the bush and have a bon fire going, but you cannot do the
same on the beach.

The National Park Service want you to visit there parks, but your not
allowed to drive your 4WD through them.

I just waiting to get my S1 back on the road to enjoy the freedom that you
had when you were a teenager growing up.

Regards


Shane Allison
Gosford NSW
Australia


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