Is it safer to wear seatbelts, or not?

[MTVR]

I don't think a lot of lay people understand the magnitude of the forces involved- I have seen fatals where the vehicle occupants were all ejected right out of their fully-laced shoes and out through the windshield- the shoes were still on the floor, and the bodies were all in the street...

 

[eaw46]

Check this video. I strongly feel if you have any kind of cab you need to wear a seatbelt but in a Jeep with no ROPS you should not.

 

[MTVR]

If you have to go back almost 70 years to cherry-pick a singular crash that supports your argument, then I'm not buying what you're selling...

 

[98G]

If you have to go back almost 70 years to cherry-pick a singular crash that supports your argument, then I'm not buying what you're selling...

I'm not so sure. For rollover crashes with no ROPS and no top at all the statistics may support no seatbelts.

Consider - john deere tractors recommends seatbelts at all times *unless the rops is folded down* in which case the recommended practice is no seat belt.

I'm wearing my seatbelt in my 5ton because it is my opinion that the odds are far higher that it will help me in a non rollover before it would hinder me in a rollover. I figure if I roll the truck completely upside down it probably doesn't matter either way.

 

[msgjd]

Most big truck drivers perish trying to avoid hitting someone who did something stupid and went on down the road like nothing happened

that is how one of my friends burned to death.... witnesses said he ran off the road to avoid rear-ending a stopped car blocking his lane on a blind corner on a 55mph road... A witness was in oncoming traffic, said the guy had no choice but swerve off the road. As he did, the idiots blocking the road started to move and they drove away, apparently oblivious to the mayhem they had caused behind them

 

[frank8003]

Seen a Deuce broadsided, bent bad the left rear tandems, pushed her against curb and flipped Her. Drivers head and body, no seal belt, chuncked around in there. The rifle mounts and windshield locks and all the other stuff sticking out screwed Him up pretty good. Truck was running fine laying on its side. Boy is still recovering after 9 months.
Like I said before, Don't want to comment, but now I have.
10 foot pole.

 

[Elijah95]

Someone pulled out in front of this truck, driver wasn’t wearing a seat belt and would have been a fatality had he been wearing it; he walked away with bruises.

My stance remains the same, 5 ton and larger =No Belt for me, anything smaller and I might wear one. Commercial Civilian trucks are different with actual crash ratings

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[V8srfun]

That was a nasty accident happy to hear he survived

 

[MTVR]

...driver wasn’t wearing a seat belt and would have been a fatality had he been wearing it...

You're projecting- you have no way of knowing that...

 

[Elijah95]

You're projecting- you have no way of knowing that...

I’m quoting the mans words, look at that seat and steering wheel, and back board and tell me otherwise


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[MTVR]

I’m quoting the mans words, look at that seat and steering wheel, and back board and tell me otherwise


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A lot of people who have been in crashes have no idea what happened, and confabulate an explanation.

One that I have heard MANY, MANY times, is a Harley owner claiming that he "had to lay 'er down" to avoid a crash (apparently not realizing that falling down IS a crash), when in reality what actually happened was that he was operating the motorcycle beyond his actual skill level (although he didn't realize it), he target-fixated, panicked, failed to steer effectively / steered into whatever he was trying to avoid / just locked his elbows and failed to steer at all, stomped the rear brake eliminating the gyroscopic stabilization of the rotating rear wheel- the only thing keeping the motorcycle upright (he thought he was "balancing" it himself), and the motorcycle fell down, almost always in an incident that any comptetent motorcycle rider could have simply steered and/or braked to avoid.

 

[Elijah95]

@MTVR here’s another one for you we were just discussing a few minutes ago, truck before and after a head on collision with an 18 wheeler. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m saying there is evidence on both sides. There is no magic pill to save us unfortunately. Stay safe out there

Names marked out for privacy of person involved and words marked out for compliance of forum language rules.

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[teletech]

CJ5 rollover, the rollbar and seatbelt worked together to save my life. Walked away from a well-splattered Jeep with just a couple minor scratches and bruises. I do feel they work best as a system. Been in a couple collisions in civvy vehicles of the car and van variety and wouldn't be here without the seatbelts. In some cases they kept me safe directly and in some cases they kept me where I could intervene in my own survival by controlling the vehicle. Installed belts in my deuce back when I had one. Basically, if something really big goes over I figure I'm likely squished like a grape but until it goes over this is an excellent reason to be someplace to have a say in what happens next.
As I get old enough to know better I'm also getting a lot more aware of securing the assorted detritus in the vehicle. Even if you don't believe in seatbelts, it's just plain sad to be killed by a loose book, wrench, pet...

 

[pigpen60]

Back in 2000 I was driving to work and at 2340 I was hit head on by a woman in a 1993 cougar I was in 1993 jeep wrangler I was wearing a seat belt and suffered a broken left ankle shattered right shin and a broken left hand and cracked pelvis. I had to be cut out and as I waited I heard over the radio that they couldnt find an air way on the other driver, was later told she wasnt wearing a seat belt and she had taken an impact to her face and they couldnt find an opening(mouth or nose). She was removed from life support later. I wear my belt not out of fear but I dont want my wife to have to deal with me doing a stupid human trick and leaving her with a mess. Belts keep you in place which enhances your ablility to control your vehicle.

 

[frank8003]

The Surprisingly Controversial History Of Seat Belts

It’s hard to imagine a time before seatbelts. But on Sept. 25, 1961, Wisconsin became the first state to require seatbelts in the front seats of cars in all models […]

www.wpr.org

A seatbelt (also known as a seat belt or safety belt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle[1] against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduces the likelihood of death or serious injury in a traffic collision by reducing the force of secondary impacts with interior strike hazards, by keeping occupants positioned correctly for maximum effectiveness of the airbag (if equipped) and by preventing occupants being ejected from the vehicle in a crash or if the vehicle rolls over.

When in motion, the driver and passengers are travelling at the same speed as the car. If the driver makes the car suddenly stop or crashes it, the driver and passengers continue at the same speed the car was going before it stopped. A seatbelt applies an opposing force to the driver and passengers to prevent them from falling out or making contact with the interior of the car (especially preventing contact with, or going through, the windshield). Seatbelts are considered Primary Restraint Systems (PRS), because of their vital role in occupant safety.

 

[eaw46]

I highly and totally support using Seat Belts in any unit with a cab and doors. My opinion and it's worth just what you are paying for it is that in an open jeep with no ROPS and no doors it's more like a motorcycle than a car and I would not install or wear a Seat Belt.

 

[msgjd]

I have personally been on both sides of the equation in two separate incidents. Someday it may happen again,. Belt or no belt, there's always the 50% chance of unluck. There are times I believe in belts, and in certain vehicles/situations no way. No two incidents are 100% alike. And are too many variables for any side of this issue to ever be 100% correct. We all have our beliefs from our own experiences on whatever side. That doesn't make anyone wrong. I have experienced both sides and am alive because of my choice that particular day

 

[SCM35A2]

I'm on the fence with seat belts, I wear them all the time in my "civilian" vehicles & sometimes in my military trucks.

 

[Ashley P]

Has anyone mentioned that sometimes during an "out of control driving event" a seat belt is necessary for the driver to remain behind the steering wheel? You've gotta be there in order to attempt to regain control. (I've been there once, I could not regain control anyway, and went over a bridge into a creek bottom, upside down. Unclicked the belt and landed on the headliner. One minor glass cut from crawling out.)

 

[JD4044M]

Ashley you said it for me!