[DeTomaso] Seat belts

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/28/07 10 57 38, msm at portata.com writes:


> Yep.  The harnesses are not DOT approved.  However, I have never heard of
> anyone getting busted for it on the street.  I think the biggest risk is
> getting into an injury accident where a passenger could sue you for having
> non-DOT safety equipment, even if the harness did not cause any problems.
> 

I have a friend in the Nor-Cal Shelby Club who was pulled over by a CHP 
officer with a big attitude.   He desperately wanted to write him a ticket but 
couldn't legitimately cite him for anything.   So he cited him for failure to wear 
seat belts, even though he was wearing all five points of his five point 
harness system (in a hot-rodded 5.0 Mustang).   My friend went to court, and I 
can't remember if he won or lost.

I'd happily pay for that ticket in exchange for the GREATLY added benefit of 
the much better safety harnesses.

BTW, Wilwood brakes and other performance items which work SUBSTANTIALLY 
better than stock parts are also not DOT certified and thus are not, technically, 
legal for use on the street.   It doesn't mean they aren't good, it just means 
the manufacturer didn't bother spending the millions of dollars (no kidding) 
to pass some BS government tests, when everybody knows that the product is 
better than the government min standards by orders of magnitude.

Mike


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