'73 Beetle, lap belts only.

[andreafahy]

I drive a '73 VW Beetle with 2 lap belts in the rear. I don't have any children of my own, but transport several children ranging in age from 2-7. The seat lap belts are very snug, extremely difficult to get through the back of a car seat, and barely fits around a 5 year old. I'd like advice. Should I look into new 3 point seat belts? I've been wanting to purchase a couple of booster seats to keep in my car as permanent seating so that they don't have to be removed from parents vehicles, but research has taught me that they are only appropriate for lap and shoulder belts. Any advice on what I should do for the safety of these children would be much appreciated.

[CPSDarren]

It is unlikely your vehicle has manufacturer shoulder belt retrofits available. It is possible there are some through an aftermarket company like JCWhitney, but you would not really have any idea how secure they are. I suspect your best resource might be one of the Beetle owner's groups- it's quite likely someone on one of those forums has already done this and located a supplier.

A few seats do accomodate larger children and can be installed with a lapbelt. Lacking a top tether in your vehicle, the Britax Marathon is probably the one with the highest limits at around 65 pounds.

Unfortunately, without shoulder belts, I would suggest that there is not a safe way for you to transport children (or adults) who cannot be seated into a child seat with a 5-point harness. Given the small size of the vehicle and that it isn't likely to meet current safety standards, putting a child in the front seat would be equally dangerous.

[Unregistered]

You have a larger problem with this vehicle. You, and any children you are transporting, have very little protection in a crash if you are in the '73 Beetle. This vehicle bears no resemblance to more contemporary vehicles in terms of crash safety. I'm sure you have your reasons for using it (preference, budget, etc), but if you are routinely transporting children I would focus my attention on finding a safer vehicle. I would never discourage you from using properly restrained child seats, but the 73 Beetle is a stinker in a crash no matter how you look at it.

[papooses]

Yeah, the ideal choice is probably for you to buy a newer car with better overall safety features :o

What you might be interested in looking into are the E-Z-On vests ... I think they range from 20-160+ pounds ... & are approved alternatives for cars with lap-only belts, but you might need help from a technician to properly install them?

http://www.ezonpro.com