Why you wear seat belts.

[ZCurves]

I watched this Youtube video of this guy driving his GT Cobra on the track when there is a mechanical failure of some kind at 130 MPH (I am thinking Tie-Rod/Control Arm). The video is from a dash camera - watch the seat belts and roll bar save his hide.

Now be careful out there my ZedBretheren.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Agreed!

I had the unfortunate experience of driving my 2001 Subaru 2.5RS off a cliff on Latigo Canyon road on the Southern california coast. Fel 73 feet and went end over end 3 times and landed on the roof. I was not even bruised. My seatbelt saved my life. Well that and the awesome tank like construction of my Impreza

[cygnusx1]

Impreza has a boron steel roll hoop under the roof skin that passes through the B-pillars. They are tough cars. I agree, ALWAYS strap yourself in.

[cajunz]

Great video and proof that proper safety equipment can save lives. The inane comments left by some of the viewers is another matter.

[FastWoman]

Nail in the sidewall of a tire -- Mazda RX-7 -- 120 mph. Stuff happens. I'm not saying anything more.

[Z dreams]

Back in the 80's I saw film with two identical cars were crashed into a wall at a set speed. The first with crash dummies, with no belts. The dummies went through the windshield. The next test was with people in the car,with belts. They just walked away. I've worn a seat belt ever since.

[jfa.series1]

Back in the 60's I bought a '56 Chevy convertible and decided with no solid top, seatbelts would be good. Got some generic ones at an auto supply, bolted them in, used them religiously. One day two old men ignored a yield sign and crossed the highway in front of me. I locked up the brakes but still smacked them at about 40 mph in the rear quarter. They spun and turned over, came out of their car OK. I had sore hips but no steering wheel impact. Belts have been used consistently ever since and saved me again from injury in a multi-car chain collision some years later.

Jim

[cajunz]

I hit a Ford LTD with my '79 280zx back when I was in college. I was running about 60 and an old man pulled out in front of me and I t-boned them. I wasn't wearing a seat belt and put a nice hole in the windshield with my head. I was lucky and walked away with just a few cuts and bruises but I've used a seatbelt every since that wreck. The old Z actually held up pretty good to the impact.

[BoldUlysses]

Early Z owners: Do you wear your (non-retractable) shoulder belts religiously? Or just the lap belts?

[jmortensen]

Agreed!

I had the unfortunate experience of driving my 2001 Subaru 2.5RS off a cliff on Latigo Canyon road on the Southern california coast. Fel 73 feet and went end over end 3 times and landed on the roof. I was not even bruised. My seatbelt saved my life. Well that and the awesome tank like construction of my Impreza

A fellow SoCal canyon death escapee! Congrats to you sir!

I went off Decker Cyn Rd (it might be Westlake right there) about 5 turns north of Mulholland intersection, rolled 250 feet sideways (many rolls, wasn't counting) and ended up on the lid of my '82 Celica. I tore my bicep pulling my buddie's hand out. His hand was pinned between the sunroof and the boulder that stopped us. He cracked his fingernail and broke the bone at the end of that finger. That was the extent of our injuries. That was the beginning of autoxing for me...

Matt, I got rear-ended in my first Z with the lap belt on. I had JUST removed the shoulder harness because I was going to turn left into a Burger King and go through the drive through and it was a bitch to roll the window down with the seat in the right position. The lady who hit me never touched the brakes doing about 50, she pushed me across the road into head on traffic where I hit an Acura Legend doing about 25 or 30. I broke my nose on the steering wheel. My wife hit her head on the dash, even with the shoulder harness on. I have to think that if I had the shoulder harness on, either I wouldn't have broken my nose, or it wouldn't have been so bad that I could hold the steering wheel up to it and have the curve match the steering wheel rim like two puzzle pieces coming together.

[5thhorsemann]

Early Z owners: Do you wear your (non-retractable) shoulder belts religiously? Or just the lap belts?

I only have the lap belts, the PO swapped out the originals for whats in there now.

[BoldUlysses]

Jon,

Yikes! That's really scary.

My dad was my Z's original owner and we never wore the shoulder belts growing up. Actually have lots of memories of being ferried around behind the front seats when there was more than one passenger, legs down in the space between the seats and rear deck, laid out beneath the glass watching the trees go by overhead... We're lucky we never got pulled over when driving like that. Or got in a wreck.

I'll probably insist on using the shoulder belts now that I have kids of my own who'll be going for Z rides.

-M