A Case for Seat Belts
by Rick Black, Webmaster
Several years ago, one of our Oregon chapter members and his family were on a Model A tour with other chapter members on a rural road in Medford Oregon. Out of nowhere, a modern pickup truck swerved into his lane and plowed head-on with his 1928 Phaeton. All four people in the car, front and rear seats, were wearing seat belts that he had installed. All four were injured but survived the collision. It took the emergency crew 20 minutes to cut the driver out of the wreckage.
If we can learn anything from this, we should ALL install seat belts, front and rear, in our Model A's. There have been several articles in The Restorer detailing the installation. It's not difficult. It's not expensive.
- A Bear on Safety - Seat Belts, May-June 1993 (38-1) p 25-30 -
- Seat Belts in a Model A?, May-June 1993 (38-1) p 24 -
- Shoulder Seat Belts for a Model A, Sep-Oct 2005, (50-3) p 12-14 -
- Seat Belts in 1929 Tudor -
- Seat Belts in 1930 Coupe -
- Seat belts in 1931 Tudor -
- Belting the Victoria - from Santa Anita A's newsletter -
Chapters: discuss this with your members at one of your upcoming meetings. Schedule a seat-belt installation clinic where everyone can bring their belts and get the help of other members to install them.
Installing seat belts WILL save lives. Don't hesitate. Don't put this off. Do it now. Please.
Rick Black, Las Cruces NM