Seat belt question

Mommy2Mya

New member
I have a question about seat belts for an infant carseat. There is one girl I am having a conversation with, and she asked if you can use seat belts that do up in the middle, not right down next to the seat, to install an infant seat. I actually have no clue about this one. Thanks a lot:)
 
ADS

scatterbunny

New member
Do you mean seatbelts that have a long buckle stalk (the female portion where the release button is), so when it is buckled the buckle is inside the carseat's belt path?
 

lovinwaves

New member
Do maybe you mean Lap Only vs. Lap AND Shoulder belt?

Or are you talking about the kind that come down from the ceiling, and you have to clip into the lap portion to make a lap/shoulder belt?
 

Mommy2Mya

New member
I know it's only a lap belt, no shoulder belt part, and she said that the buckle does up in the middle instead of off to the side....so I'm guessing that it would be right in the middle of your lap if you were sitting there? the amin thing I thought of is that it would prevent the carseat from properly being secured into the base because that buckle would be in the middle of it, but I don't know:confused: I guess her car is like a super old Impala classic car or something and she's trying to figure out if she could make it work.
 

LuvBug

New member
I know some older model(classic) cars had the lapbelts that did up in the middle sort of like an airplane seatbelt(If I am remembering correctly what an airplane seatbelt was like 11 years ago lol!). Does the seatbelt lock at all? what exact year and model is it?

If it is a classic car Id worry about if the belts have ever been replaced, has it ever been in a wreck, etc... Is this the only vehicle she has?
 

Mommy2Mya

New member
Yes, I'm pretty sure that's EXACTLY the kind of belt it is. I'm not sure about the year or anything, but I do know that they are in the process of re-building it right now so they will be ordering new seatbelts, but I guess she told me that the only ones that are made for that vehicle are the ones that do up in the middle like that. So then she was like, "Can I just weld in some UAS while we are putting the car back together?" And I'm like, "ummmm, no....." Lol. I guess she may just have to try and find a different vehicle.
 

scatterbunny

New member
Some seats will work fine with belts like that, others won't. Unfortunately I'm not knowledgable enough yet to know which seats would work best. :eek: Off the top of my head, I'd say seats with a completely closed belt path, and maybe not infant seats (focus on convertibles that will fit newborns well from birth). I just couldn't imagine trying to do an infant seat base with a belt like that, but maybe others have and it's fine?
 

sfeitler

Member
Some seats will work fine with belts like that, others won't. Unfortunately I'm not knowledgable enough yet to know which seats would work best. :eek: Off the top of my head, I'd say seats with a completely closed belt path, and maybe not infant seats (focus on convertibles that will fit newborns well from birth). I just couldn't imagine trying to do an infant seat base with a belt like that, but maybe others have and it's fine?

If these are pretty much just like airplane seat belts, they should work fine with an infant seat, and with most convertible seats as well. Ask her if they are this style:

http://www.hotrodscustomstuff.com/classicseatbelts.html

These belts don't lock, precisely, but they don't retract either. They have a slide-through belt length adjustment, just as you find on a plane (or in my '91 Escort middle seat position!). The buckle will be in the middle of the seat. If you use it without the base, the buckle would be above the infant's feet (I personally would want to wrap something around it to keep the infant from kicking the buckle open). Probably with a convertible seat, you'd have the same problems unbuckling that you have on a plane--might need to flip the latchplate.

Might be hard to use the base, I don't really know--I've only ever used a baseless infant seat on a plane.

-Sarah
 

LuvMyGirls

New member
I just happen to have a 1967 GT 500 Convertible Mustang sitting in my carport. I just ran out to check the back seatbelts because I've never put a car seat back there. The belts do come together in the middle, but they unlatch with a button on the front of the metal female end. They do not have the lift plate like airplane seat belts. You adjust the belt by sliding the female side of the buckle like dh's 1999 Chevrolet truck does.

I have no idea how to post pics here, but I'd be glad to try to install dd2's Comfortsport in the Mustang if it would help. A friend left a Safety 1st carrier car seat with base here that I could also try.

edit - Sorry, but that won't work. I just tried and cannot get the buckle to slide at all. Who knows how long it has been in the position it is in. I'll have to ask dh about it when he gets home.
 

Simplysomething

New member
Yes, I'm pretty sure that's EXACTLY the kind of belt it is. I'm not sure about the year or anything, but I do know that they are in the process of re-building it right now so they will be ordering new seatbelts, but I guess she told me that the only ones that are made for that vehicle are the ones that do up in the middle like that. So then she was like, "Can I just weld in some UAS while we are putting the car back together?" And I'm like, "ummmm, no....." Lol. I guess she may just have to try and find a different vehicle.

This thread talks about seat belts in older cars:
http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=19677

Someone ;) ....found this link:
http://www.gotbelts.com/
 

sfeitler

Member
She might not be able to use a base. But she can buckle the seat in directly (as long as it's not a Peg Perego--I think they require you to use the base). Or she can get a convertible seat and skip the infant seat, since she won't have the convenience of taking the seat out of the base.

-Sarah
 

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