So my mom was driving my old car the other day, which is a 1994 Ford Escort, and she got pulled over with my little sister in the car for not wearing the shoulder harness part of the seatbelt. They were, infact, wearing the lap belt, which has to be manually plugged in. The thing is, I pulled the fuse on the automatic seat belts back in the day (the kind that run along the top, right inside the door, and slowly move down the runner every time you open or shut the door). It was obnoxious and I was under the impression that all that is required is a lap belt?? Am I wrong? They nailed them with a 110 dollar fine for not wearing the shoulder harness and gave her a fix-it ticket because it wasn't in operation. To add to our argument, my mom and the car are still liscenced out of state; Idaho, to be exact. I've been pulled over multiple times in that car and never once did they say anything about not having a shoulder harness! Is this contestible? What is the law?

 

I believe that if the seatbelt contains the lap and shoulder strap, both must be worn, and both must be worn properly.

They're doing that 'click it or ticket' push right now. Any other time and she probably would have been fine.

 

Yeah, its an automatic ticket for no seatbelt right now. No warnings!!! Its a new program from the dept of transportation, so its nationwide.

 

what is wrong with wearing a seatbelt? if you dont want one, buy an old car that doesn't have any.

 

Announcement on most of all the radio stations that law enforcement across America will be enforcing their "ZERO TOLERENCE SEAT BELT" law. In other words, this is another revenue generating vehicle for the US.

 

if it is original equipment on the car it must be used....

for example uncle's 62 impala didn't have seatbelts when it was made, but we have added them for obvious reasons. If we were pulled over and weren't wearing the seatbelts we could not be given a ticket because it was not "stock" when it was made. I had a police officer confirm that, but maybe they wouldn't care during the "CLICK IT OR TICKET" campaign

 

Lets assume your sister is age 5-14. She is four times more likely to die without the shoulder belt. Why in the world would you want her to be 4 times more likely to die?

Click it.

 

i realized now that i forgot to ask the most blantantly obvious question in the world...


Whyy on earth would you turn off / disable a safety feature of your car..... annoying or not?

I understand if it was a race car or project car, but a 1994 ford escort doesn't seem like the type of car you would modify for those reasons...