DIYbanter - View Single Post

Art Todesco

On 1/6/2015 9:05 PM, wrote:
The seatbelt on my 95 Chevy pickup truck.

The buckle part is right against the crack in the seat, and can not be
pulled up further. It's not rigid, so it turns side to side. To buckle
it, I have to literally twist my whole body while pulling on it, so I
can SEE the slot to put it in. In warmer weather, this is not too bad.
In cold weather while I am wearing a thick winter coat, not only does
the coat block my view of the buckle but also makes it hard to twist
myself, not to mention I have some back problems that can make it
painful to twist in that manner.

Anyhow, it sometimes takes me several minutes to get that thing clicked,
and our local small town cops, just watch for seat belt violators to
hand out costly tickets (they got nothing better to do). So, I am
constantly getting annoyed by it. I think it was very poorly designed!

I googled "seat belt" and noticed that there are things called "Seat
Belt Extenders". Lots of them on Ebay, and elsewhere. They are
basically a short piece of seatbelt (most are about one foot long), with
a snap on one end, and buckle on the other end.

This looks like it would solve my problem, since I could get the buckle
in FRONT OF ME, (on my lap), not deep down next to me, where it's hard
to see and manuver.

I'm posting this to ask if anyone else has used them? My biggest
concern is whether the entire belt will be too long with this added????
I'm an average weight. I think these are made more for overweight large
people.

Honestly, I really dont care much of the seatbelt fits me real well. I
personally find them to be more of a pain than useful. But I dont want
to get ticketed which I last heard is around a $200 fine. So my main
concern is just to satisfy the law, which is presently very hard to do,
if I'm only driving a few blocks while running errands.

I'd rather spent $10 or $15 for one of these than get a $200 ticket.

I bought a new Trailblazer when they 1st came out; a 2002 model, but I
got it in late 2001 ... right around Sept 11, my wedding anniversary and
daughter's birthday. I complained to the dealer that the shoulder belt
was uncomfortable and cutting across our necks. He provided, for free, a
set of extenders. Solved the problem. Still have the car ... probably
the most reliable car I've owned! BTW, we leave the extenders connected
to the stationary buckle and they work pretty good that way. Only
problem is that some 'visitors' will invariably do it wrong and leave
the 6" extender with 2 buckles dangling from the end of the shoulder/lap
belt. I probably should have put a screw into the stationary buckle to
prevent its removal.

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