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When were seatbelts mandatory in new vehicles?

Discussion in 'Early Jeep Restoration and Research' started by Roboter, Mar 28, 2006.

  1. Roboter

    Roboter Klaatu Barada Jeepto

    Re: stupid ecj5 question

    Don't mean to hijack but to make sure, what about seatbelts?
     
    Roboter, Mar 28, 2006
    #1
  2. jhuey

    jhuey Michigan Jeeper!

    Re: stupid ecj5 question

    American Seat Belt History
    1947 The first time seat belts were offered in a American car was the Tucker.
    The state of the art then were Lap belts.
    1956 Ford introduces seat belts in American cars
    1964 Seatbelts became a "standard" feature in American cars
    1966 Rear Seatbelts became Standard
    1967 Front Seatbelts became Mandatory
    1968 Shoulder Belts became Mandatory
    1969 Headrests became Mandatory
    1973 GM installs air bags in fleet of Chevrolet Impalas
    1974 General Motors offers the first air bags in its 1974-1976 Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs
    1986 Ford offers the airbag as an option on the Tempo
    1991 Driver Airbags are made Mandatory

    I guess the short answer is 1967;)
     
    jhuey, Mar 28, 2006
    #2
  3. Glenn

    Glenn Kinda grumpy old man Staff Member

    Re: stupid ecj5 question

    FWIW my wagon was set up for belts front and rear. Pretty cool all I had to do was install them.
     
    Glenn, Mar 29, 2006
    #3
  4. Howard Eisenhauer

    Howard Eisenhauer Administrator Staff Member

    Re: stupid ecj5 question

    I may be wrong on this but wern't the mandatory requirements for seat belts in trucks a few years later than for passenger cars? I know it varies from place to place now but in that time period a CJ would probaly be classed as a 1/4 ton truck.


    H.



     
    Howard Eisenhauer, Mar 29, 2006
    #4
  5. Mcruff

    Mcruff Earlycj5 Machinist

    Yep, trucks are almost always fathered in later than cars.
     
    Mcruff, Mar 29, 2006
    #5
  6. jhuey

    jhuey Michigan Jeeper!

    I found this: (a) "Motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle having a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or less that is required to be equipped with safety belts by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208. Passenger cars are required to have belts if built after December 31, 1967. Light trucks and multi-purpose vehicles are required to have safety belts if built after December 31, 1971.
    So, if Jeeps were defined in the last sentence (I think they were) the answer is after 1971.
     
    jhuey, Apr 2, 2006
    #6