Old Car Safety Items

[philman]

Just curiuos, if your old car did not come with, say... safety belts, license plate lamps, turn signals are you required to update to current requirements or just suffer and explain to the kindly officer that your car pre-dates such requirements.

 

[roofman]

Good question, and I will bet with many awnsers.
Safety belts: even if not required, a must.
License plate lamp: the reason they will pull you over.
Turn signals: Use arm signals, but young drivers don't know what they mean. Hot rod shops have aftermarket types.
I will bet different juristictions will give different awnswers, but always think of your personal safety, and check with your local authorities would seem like a good suggestion.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Just curiuos, if your old car did not come with, say... safety belts, license plate lamps, turn signals are you required to update to current requirements or just suffer and explain to the kindly officer that your car pre-dates such requirements.

I agree that seat belts, properly mounted, are pretty much a "must" regardless. Beyond that, though, you would need to check your state's vehicle and traffic code to see what was required on a given year of car. License plate lamps have been around for a very long time, so I imagine that they would be required. Turn signals are a bit more recent; in New York, I believe they were required starting around 1951.

Your state's vehicle and traffic code likely also has information on whether or not older vehicles are required to be "updated" in any way. In New York, there are no such requirements that I know of.

With all due respect to law enforcement agencies (and state safety inspection shop staff), they won't necessarily be aware of such laws and regulations, so it is worth "doing the research"!

 

[Tomster]

DO NOT Forget the tartan wool stadium blanket for the significant other for fall drives

 

[TR3driver]

CA does not require that old cars be updated to later safety standards (although there are some things you aren't allowed to do, like carry young children in a car not equipped with seat belts).

And the police here seem pretty familiar with what is required. When my 3A was totaled, the CHP officer asked me if I was wearing a belt, then looked at the car and said "... but you aren't required to have them, are you".

As far as adding seat belts ... well, let's just say I'm not going to put them in the 'new' TR3 either. At least not unless it gets a full roll cage as well.

 

[eejay56]

Oregon requires you to wear a seatbelt so by inference it would seem those are required. As for the other stuff, I'd check with the DMV. Of course the license plate lamps will get you pulled over (if you drive at night) whether they are technically required or not.

 

[tomshobby]

Here is a '47 Triumph. Mel Merzon added signal lights that clamp on the front and rear bumpers and can easily be removed for shows. Mel told me they make him feel safer on the road.

 

[kindofblue]

There is no such requirements in PA. I have mine registered as an antique, which means I shouldn't drive at night. However I drove past an officer at a car show at 9:00 PM. What could he do, I was leaving the show? Anyway, this is a great state to own an old car.

Seat Belts should be a national requirement for all cars. The best safety invention ever, and not having them for originalities sake strikes me as funny. I never go out in any car without a seat belt on.

 

[Geo Hahn]

I figure most of the officers & troopers were born after the car was built... anyway an old guy in one of these cars doesn't look like much trouble.

I have aftermarket seats belts & use them -- but don't kid myself that they offer a lot of protection in a TR3. My wife says that if the worst happens she at least wants my body to still be in the car. How sweet.

I suspect most of the equipment requirements that came after the date of manufacture are unlikely to get you in trouble if they are absent. A shakier point is that I drive the '3 with just the driver's side aeroscreen about half the year -- I doubt that is strictly legit for street use. BTW, WallyMart sells some nice wrap-around safety glasses with sunglass lenses -- good for eye protection when driving this way.

 

[PeterK]

Vehicles with antique plates are exempt from safety inspection here in Maine; go figure. But I make sure that every safety device the car came with (lights, horn, etc.) works as designed.

Also, I ALWAYS keep a fire extinguisher handy, just in case.

 

[TR3driver]

Oregon requires you to wear a seatbelt

I was curious about that (since I've driven through Oregon in my TR3A with no seat belts). The OR seatbelt law specifically exempts "Any vehicle not required to be equipped with safety belts or safety harnesses at the time the vehicle was manufactured, unless safety belts or safety harnesses have been installed in the vehicle."

https://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/811.html
(scroll down to 811.215 (2))

 

[DNK]

I would think that they could only require stuff that was originally equipped with the vehicle,unless you modified it so much it had to go through inspection again.

 

[philman]

I wonder about the safety of improperly installed safety belts, maybe because there are no real anchoring points or they would ride across the body wrong.

License plate lamps are the thing that I was really thinking about. Cops seem to use that as an excuse to pull over somebody they want to check out. But Turn signals also were a puzzle. I guess that you could install a piggy back wiring harness and install auxillary light bars for turn signals.

 

[Guest]

As I have stated way, way in the past on this forum, using 30+ year old seat belts is like have no seat belts at all. A good friend, an expert on everything, pointed out that nylon webbing rapidly degenerates past the 20 year mark and wearing antique belts is a true safety hazard. They will pop on the first (and only) real test, an accident.

 

[70herald]

I have never heard of having to add extra stuff beyond what was required but I wouldn't let my kids or anyone else sit in a car without belts and not 30 year old belts either.
The only other thing I would add is a good 3rd brake light. The really bright LED ones are probably best.

 

[foxtrapper]

A lot depends on the local and what you are planning on doing. Night driving is a good example.

Here in Maryland, if you want to take your ancient acetylene lit car out at night, with antique tags, you are perfectly legal.

In PA though, you cannot. You're either going to drive during daylight hours, or upgrade your headlights.