On Wed, 15 Mar 2000, Laura Gharazeddine wrote:
> I never got Susan's message-but upon reading it, and her comments on the
> shoulder vs. lap belt question, I think I would have to agree....
And, I, respectfully, must disagree.
> I know that, driving the Spit as much as I do, I've thought often of the
> blowout that we had in my dad's station wagon when I was a kid-my mum laid
> down in the seat when she realized we were in for a bad one-if she'd had
> shoulder belt, she wouldn't have been able to to that.
Why not? There is nothing about a properly worn and fastened "stock"
shoulder harness to prevent one from doing just that. For those few who
might still have the ancient, separate (and separately adjustable)
shoulder belts, remember that they should NOT be all that snug. The "rule"
was always to be able to just fit your fist between the belt and your
upper torso. Looser and it does no good. Tighter and it might do harm.
Meanwhile, the various inertia-style one-piece lap/shoulder combinations
that have been around for over 25 years now tighten WHEN NEEDED. If they
don't tighten at all, or if they lock you down too snugly, there is
something wrong with them and they should be replaced!
> And I have often
> thought about the tension on my shoulder belt, and how would I be able do
> duck in a split second-I wouldn't. I must admit that many times, I put the
> shoulder part of the belt under my arm.
Again, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to duck out from under a
properly used shoulder harness. And as for the "under your arm" bit,
Laura, PLEASE DON'T DO THAT. You almost guarantee that the belt will do as
much harm as good in ANY CRASH when you wear it that way, or that it
simply won't do anything at all (including the lap portion).
> The only people I have personally heard of getting killed in a car accident,
> have been properly belted, driving along like rational and sensible human
> beings, in bigger cars than Spitfires....
As some folks point out every so often (most recently Fred T.), there
always will be something bigger. You can be inside a reinforced bunker,
but if the asteroid is big enough.... :-)
One other clarification: in my mind, one should absolutely never even
consider a "racing-style" four-point harness in an open car unless that
open car (be it Spitfire or '59 Cadillac) has a certified, approved,
race-quality roll bar or roll cage. THIS is where that "being able to duck
out from under the belt" situation might come into play. You really DO NOT
want to be solidly fixed in place if, after the initial impact, the roll
bar turns into a Rold Gold pretzel (and some so-called "street bars" have
about as much strength as those little salty things), because YOU become
the roll bar then.
Bottom line, for ME, is that I guess I'm not willing to play those odds;
i.e., I'm not willing to sacrifice the protection available for 99% of the
likely impacts just because I can see a possibility of harm in the other
1%. (OK, I have no idea what percentage of crashes of convertibles or any
other vehicles involves a rollover, but I'll wager it's not very high).
Oh, and if you're over about 5'6" (and even if you're not), I'm betting
that you'll regret NOT padding your roll bar, no matter how you're
otherwise secured into your Spitfire. ;-)
IMHO, YMMV, etc., etc., based on years of experience, observation, reading
and some undergraduate and postgraduate college credits in traffic safety
and accident prevention.
--Andy
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Andrew Mace, President and *
* 10/Herald/Vitesse (Sports 6) Consultant *
* Vintage Triumph Register <www.vtr.org> *
* amace@unix2.nysed.gov *
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