Automatic Seatbelts?

"66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash" (66671) 04/07/2015 at 19:58 • Filed to: None

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This car parked beside mine at our apartment has some weird looking seatbelts, I can't remember what model it is but I think it's a Buick.

CaptDale - is secretly British > 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash 04/07/2015 at 20:04

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I don't believe they are automatic, just attached to the doors.

ranwhenparked > 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash 04/07/2015 at 20:08

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Motorized seatbelts were a loophole for a brief period in the early '90s, manufacturers could either install airbags or automatic shoulder belts, and the automatic belts were cheaper. Once airbags were mandated for everyone, the automatic belts went away because they were annoying.

However, GM found an even lazier way - apparently, they struck some sort of deal where they could just mount the shoulder belts directly to the door, and didn't have to make them motorized. Those are just ordinary manual seatbelt, but the idea was that you were more likely to actually use it if it was hanging in the way on the door like that, so it served the same purpose as an automatic belt.

They were also pretty unsafe, since on some models, the door could fling open in a collision.

jariten1781 > 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash 04/07/2015 at 20:08

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All GMs non-airbag cars had those in the transition period. They were supposed to be left buckled in all the time and stretched when the door was opened so they'd be ''automatically engaged". Of course no one ever did that.

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > ranwhenparked 04/07/2015 at 20:09

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Ok cool, thanks!

Nisman > ranwhenparked 04/07/2015 at 20:22

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Unreal. Amazing.