Check out Article 1 sections 9 & 10 of the US Constitution regarding ex
post facto laws and the ability of State or Federal Governments to
impose laws retroactively. If the car never had seat belts, you can't be
forced to install them. If you install them, you must use them in
California and probably most everywhere else.
Ron
58 MGA
Barney Gaylord wrote:
> Installation of seat belts is originally regulated by federal law, and
> pre-dates federal emissions regulations. For 1960 model year cars were
> required to have seat belt anchor ponts for the front seats. For 1963
> they were required to have front lap belts and anchor points for rear
> seats. In 1966 they were required to have rear lap belts. In 1968 (or
> maybe 1969) they were required to have shoulder harness for the two
> outboard front seats, but it was common for the shoulder strap to attach
> separately (and maybe not be used). A few years later the law was
> ammended to require the shoulder strap to be permanently attached to the
> lap belt.
>
> In 1974 for one year only the cars had a pressure sensor in the front
> seats and a seat belt latch sensor and and a seat-belt to ignition
> interlock. You had to perforn the proper sequence to start the car, sit
> down, buckle up, and then start the engine. This raised such a public
> outrage that it was changed the following year to require only visual
> and audible warnings (light and buzzer).
>
> Vintage cars should be grandfathered in the law to specificatoins as of
> date of manufacture. That means MGA would have seat belt anchor points
> in late 1959, but no MGA was ever required to actually have seat belts.
> It is my understanding that the factory never insalled seat belts in any
> MGA, but dealers would do it it you wanted them. So if your MGA has no
> seat belts you are exempt. I have never heard of any state law in North
> America requiring retroactive modification contrary to the federal
> specifications.
>
> However, if you do install seat belts in your MGA, you will be required
> to wear them in many states (including Illinois). Seat belts actually
> installed but not used is a violation.
>
> Barney Gaylord
> 1958 MGA with an attitude
> http://MGAguru.com
>
>
> At 09:52 AM 7/2/2011 -0400, frankk12 at verizon.net wrote:
>
>> Rhode Island, where I live just enacted a mandatory seat belt law. My
>> problem is that my MGA and 64 B don't have seat belts. What does the
>> group recommend for installing belts? I had preferred to keep the cars
>> original. Older cars were grandfathered when it came to inspections
>> and belts were not required if they weren't originally installed. I
>> assume this isn't the case with the new mandatory law. Is there a set
>> of belts that doesn't seriously compromise the originality of the cars?
>
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