In a message dated 1/10/2005 9:52:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, "FRED E THOMAS"
<frede.thomas2@verizon.net> writes:
>Seat belts became mandatory on all "NEW" 1964 cars, any make or model,
>before that date it is not mandatory to have seat belts or even kiddie seats
>or restraints, including booster seats, I do have them in my 31 "A" and can
>ride any age child in the front seat or rumble seat anywhere in this
>country. "FT"
==============
Actually, back then, laws varied from state to state. In New York, for example:
-front belt mountings required for 1963 models in NY
-at least two front belts required for 1965 models in NY
-belts for each intended rear seat passenger for 1967 models...
-cars after 1/1/68: one belt for each passenger seat position
By 1968, Federal laws began to take precedence, with the requirement of seat
and shoulder belts (in closed cars, at least) for the "outboard" front seat
positions. Seems to me that it wasn't until at least the mid-1970s that seat
and shoulder belts were required for those positions in open cars, although
most manufacturers of the (few) open cars then were providing them as standard
(I vividly remember the early Fiat X1/9s I'd see in showrooms as being a
notable exception).
--Andy Mace
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