All,
Normally I would stay in lurk mode, but this is a subject which I have
recently come to feel rather strongly about. This just my personal
opinion, and I'm not trying to contradict anyone else's position on this
sensitive subject, but here's my story:
I have lap and shoulder belts in my TR3A, and this July they were
unfortunately put to the test. As I was driving to work one morning,
doing about 40 mph down a main city street, a pickup truck pulled out
directly in front of me from a shopping center driveway. No time to
implement any evasive maneuvers, no super fast "S" swerves like you see
in the movies, no time to even turn enough to one side, no time to duck
down; just time enough to hit the brakes less than a second before
impact. I ended up "t-boning" the truck directly on the drivers door.
It was enough of an impact to tip the truck onto its side, as well as
doing considerable front end damage to my TR. I have a roll bar in the
car (looks something like the one in the TRF glove box companion) which
I installed expressly for shoulder belt anchoring. The instructions
that came with the seatbelts said not to anchor the shoulder belt lower
that a couple of inches below shoulder height. If you do, you risk
severe spinal compression in the event of an accident like mine, since
the belt will exert a violently downward force as your mass attempts to
accelerate forward. I'm about 6' tall, and have the Moss seat springs
(which cause you to sit about an inch or so higher than you do with the
original springs) so I sit pretty high in the 3. The roll bar allows
proper attachment height for the shoulder belt. I feel lucky to have
suffered only bruises and a few cracked ribs from the encounter. I
attribute my relative lack of injury to the lap and shoulder belt
combination. Without the shoulder belts my face would have been
hamburgerized by contact with the steering wheel and/or windshield. Put
me down as a STRONG believer in shoulder belts. As far as adjustment, I
wore mine as Andy suggests: a snug lap belt and a shoulder belt loose
enough to allow some freedom of movement.
I don't have a website, but if anyone wants to see the results of a 30
mile per hour (or so) front impact on a TR3A, I can email you a picture.
Lots of front end damage, frame damage, the rad was pushed into the
engine, the sheet metal is rippled all the way down the left side to and
including the rear fender, the right side damage just goes to the door.
Dennis
TS77028L (like a phoenix, it WILL rise again)
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