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How can folks ride in the back and it be legal? Can you attach lap belts somewhere and it be legal if you get stopped? where is the best place to put these and how?
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that is a good question -
Well.....um....you could.....um....shit......I uh......oh boy.Comment
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Interesting topic.Originally posted by badkitty View Post
As with alot of this stuff, I think it mostly depends on where you are and who is doing the "stopping."
Here in Michigan, in order to be legal, each person in the back must be in a seat, for commercial use (read: limo) the seats have to be DOT approved. I suppose if you dug deep enough, it wouldn't surprise me that in order to be legal period, the seats would have to be DOT approved even for private use. I think that it is just a difference that they actually check for the DOT thing on a limo.
That said, as far as seat belts go ... if you buy belts, they usually have instructions and very large washers that allow you to fasten the anchoring points by ... essentially drilling a hole in the floor pan and installing these huge washers on both sides. I know this because I have bought/installed safety harnesses in dune buggies.
If you are using belts from another car, then floor reinforcement plates could be made (out of like 10 gage sheet steel). By doing it this way, you can fasten the belts virtually anywhere in the rear floorpan area that you can get to from both the top and the bottom. I am not 100% sure about whether or not the seatbelts can be attached to the seat frame, or if they absolutely have to be attached to the main car. I think they have to be attached to the car, as the seat could come loose in an accident.
I am gonna have to crawl underneath a conversion van and see how they do it.
Hope this helps.
-Thirsty-Comment
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Hmmm..
There are no back seats in the hearse (I assume it is that way in her car), the platform prevents you from getting the belts bolted to the floor, there is no back rest/support if you sit on the platform.
With the seats I built, I bought generic lap belts and bolted them to the 1/4" angle iron that bolts to the floor. There are 3 positions in the front, and 3 in the rear. The seat assembly is bolted to the floor in 6 places.
Like Thirsty said, it can get tricky with legalities.Comment
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If there are no seats than there should be no need for seat belts.
It would be like passengers riding in the bed of a pick-up, I think that is still legal isn't it?Comment
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I went through this a few times in the past, GA law states that you can carry as many people in the back you want, no seats or seatbelts required do to the fact that the car is "inclosed", only catch is that legally the occupants must be age 16 or older, and you must be traveling in a "safe" manner. Basically, not having 10 people playing twister in the back, or jumping up and down, basically acting like a jackass. Oh, and alcohol is legal only in the back of the car, and only with the apropriate licenses, because there is a "non" removeable partition between the occupants and the driver. Hearses are classified as "limos" as far as traffic laws go. You just can't collect"payment" from your occupants without adequate commercial insurance, and a valid cauffers license.
There, clear enough?Comment
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more than 15 people in your car you need a CDLComment
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No it actually isn't "technically" legal. Most cops dont give a fuck, but it is not "inclosed" so the possibility of " ejection of occupants from vehicle" is higher. kinda weird, but that is how it reads out.Originally posted by LMS View PostComment
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I guess i will break down and call several law agencies and see what they all say and then i will post my findings.Comment
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if you dont care about the table you could cut out part of it and install seats with belts.Comment
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I was thinking more on attaching lap belts 2-3 on each side at the bottom of the side thing in back (what is that called the side box under light) just for looks belt if they must be in there to ride back there, i hate to take out or mess up anything.Most cops would just flashlight the back and not actually crawl back there to see. People in RV's don't have to be belted at all times do they? My son -24 is wanting his friends to ride back there halloween drinking, while i drive them around, i'm not to sure about that myself.Comment
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There was a guy at one of the chariots of the dead meets that had a very cool setup. He had a diamond plate platform made the size of the casket table so that it fit snug in the coach. Bolted to the diamond plate table was a minivan bench seat made of leather, with seatbelts. What held the whole platform in the car from moving around??? Bier pins.
It was a genius setup. Maybe Bill has some pictures of it.Comment
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That does sound like a good idea. i need to fiqure out something, it seems the folks who want to ride in the hearse , want to ride on the table for some reason, so far nobody is too intersted in the front seat they want to pilfer thru the back and on the table. Anybody else noticed that? some folks are not gonna get near the hearse but those who do, want to crawl on the table and sit back there, pick up my pins and look at them. they spend about 2 seconds looking at the perfect interior of the front and go to the back.Comment
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exactly what happens in mine... here in kansas city , ive been stopped several times with passengers in the back , ive never had a problem with the police about it , and that was before i had tint and the cop could see in . however you cant have an open container here though .Originally posted by badkitty View PostComment
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