seat belts

[Rods58]

g'day to all......I know I dont have to fit seat belts to the old girl for rego but I think it would be a good idea "its not 1958 out there anymore."So any ideas on what i should fit them out of. I am thinking early commodore.

[Blown_FC]

Rods58......you can pretty much fit anything you like, as long as they are in good order and fitted correctly.

Now before we get into that whole LEGALITY story about which belts to fit and are they legal and would the insurance pay out in an accident ect ect......this is my only real tip:

(If your car is not currently licensed ), get the car passed WITHOUT seatbelts fitted.....they do not need them being a 1958 car and it will save a whole lot of dramas come licensing time....then when the car is passed and is now licensed...fit the belts !

If you fit the belts prior to licensing, and they are not to correct standards, you may not get the car passed......so as long as you are happy in yourself that the belts are safe and secure....fit them after the rego day !

Cheers

mark

[FCwagon]

Just my thoughts on this, but I don't see how you would bother to fit sub-standard seatbelts in anything.
Like Mark has said, I too think it's ok to fit good second hand equipment but if the belt has any fraying, the slightest cut or the buckle is worn, it's not safe.
Leigh

[davids_ute]

my question would be , that would you fit or have to fit them if the car was modified say larger motor and you took it in for rego (ps dont want to steal this thread)
                                                     regards david

[RET]

In NSW the rules are simple:

* If the car has never had them fitted and is otherwise original (or at least does not have sufficient modifications to warrant an engineers report) then you don't have to fit them.

* If the car is modified, was legally registered without them (ie a long time ago) and that rego has never lapsed, you don't have to fit them.

* If the car has ever had belts fitted, they must remain fitted.  And of course, if they're fitted, they must be worn by the occupants

I imagine that VicRoads have similar doco you can obtain, but in NSW the rules regarding light vehicle modifications are very clear.  If the increase in cubic capacity is less than 10% (ie 149 just scrapes in on the presumption that all greys are 138cid), then you don't need the car engineered.  Any more than that and you do.  "Getting the car engineered" includes meeting the guidelines set out in the "Light Vehicle Modifications" document you can download from the RTA's site.  These basically boil down to: 2-speed wipers, demister, seat-belts (all the way around) and disc brake front, on top of the basic rego requirements, and anything the engineer tells you to do :-/ This is a bit more subjective, and depends upon whatever other mods you might have done.  You can of course shop around for engineers if you think one you've spoken to is being unreasonable.

That's a long answer to a short question

cheers,
RET

[Dr_Terry]

Hi Richard.

To add to that.

Seat belts weren't originally compulsory until the 1st ADR compliance plates were fitted (1/70). Although most Car Companies were fitting them before this date.

The RTA in their wisdom have now made seat belts for the front 2 (outer) passengers compulsory for all cars 1/65 onwards.

This means, if you have an HD or early HR, which left the factory without belts, cannot be registered unless you fit them.

The grey area is whether you need it for rego renewal (pink slip) or a new rego (blue slip). I'm not sure about this part. Does anyone know ?

Regards.

Dr Terry.

[vy2van]

Hi Dr Terry

I have received a different written answer from the RTA.

I put it to them in writing that my EH van has been unregistered for approx 5 years and that I am restoring it to its original condition.

I asked whether I need to instal seat belts or not.

Their response was the following:

"...Seat belts aren't required in a 1964 model vehicle.

Seat belts were required in the front outer seats from 1965 model vehicles.

Your vehicle is deemed legal without seat belts..."

I wish the RTA was consistent in their approach but we are dealing with people who wouldnt know if they saw a FE to a HR if they fell over one. Most of the people in the RTA of NSW are of ethnic-origin.

Sean

[RET]

Sorry Sean, but how is that response different to what Terry wrote?  Seems to me that it only corroborates his information: 1965-onwards = seat-belts required.  No need for the implied racist jibe  There are plenty of forum users that aren't ex-convict stock too, you know.

[oldgmh]

In Qld, you can register a car without belts IF it came from the factory without belts.  
However if at a later stage seat belts have been fitted then they must be engineer approved, and the driver can also be fined for not wearing the belt.

It always seemed strange to me that I can legally drive around in an a certain car without seat belts fitted, BUT I can drive the same car with seat belts fitted and be fined by the cops for not wearing the seat belt.