3 point seat belt

Technical questions and answers about the Mazda Bongo

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francofontain

3 point seat belt

Post by francofontain » Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:33 pm

Anyone know if a 3 point seat belt can be fitted to a rear facing bench seat?? Child seat woes!!!! :?
pippin

Post by pippin » Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:58 pm

No, doubt it is possible.
Ian
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Post by Ian » Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:48 am

To back Pippin up, I too doubt whether it is possible.
668. The Neighbour of The Beast.
francofontain

Post by francofontain » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:09 am

Ta v much for that, just been onto 321 and the only option is to turn the bench seat back to facing forward :x bummer!
vanvliet
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Post by vanvliet » Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:57 am

Just a thought - If it is a safety issue over the dangers of using a lap belt then it might be possible to fit a basic racing harness or non retracting full harness - Easier than trying to accommodate a retracting belt . I stress that I have never looked into this in any depth and it might be a waste of time but worth investigating.

Look at this site

http://wescoperformance.stores.yahoo.net/am4point.html

http://wescoperformance.stores.yahoo.net/seatbelts.html
francofontain

Post by francofontain » Tue Aug 01, 2006 1:52 pm

Interesting, just emailed them as its seems you still have to anchor them to the floor, but I'll wait for their reply. Cheers V much for that
martnin
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Post by martnin » Tue Aug 01, 2006 4:23 pm

franco, think about this, the powers that be have decided in their infinit wisdom that any seats in a campervan that face to the rear do not have to have any form of seat belt at all. Reason? well they obviously believe that a rear facing seat is MUCH safer in an accident than a forward one. And they are of course right. So if you have children and you put them in the rear facing seat with, say, a lap belt, they would in my opinion be 10 times safer than a forward seat with a 3 point belt. Don't take my word for it, ask around, others will confirm. My grandchildren always sit in the reversed seat, they enjoy the novelty of it and I am much happier knowing they are safer. So do your kids a favour, do not turn your middle seat round to face the front, just fit some lap belts....Martin..................... P.S. if any adults are sitting in the rearmost seat facing your children make sure they [the adults] wear their seatbelt. An unbelted adult in even a low speed accident can do a lot of damage to a child.
vanvliet
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Post by vanvliet » Tue Aug 01, 2006 5:00 pm

[quote="francofontain"] ''you still have to anchor them to the floor.''

I think that you would probably only need the shoulder straps anchored to the floor .The lap part might fix to the standard lap belt bolts . If seatbelts are not required at all for rear facing seats ( which is a bit odd ) then at least there would be no problem using USA approved items.Interested to hear how you get on .

Everything Martnin says is probably true however - - I have been in a car shunted from behind at low speed and I have also had the scary experience of looking in my rear view mirror at temporary roadworks on a country road only to see a car about to hit me at high speed - he swerved ,just about lost it, but managed to overtake our row of stationary cars - luckily there was nothing coming in the other direction. The point it that rear shunts happen too.
I would fit a full harness if it is possible but perhaps I am over cautious.
pippin

Post by pippin » Tue Aug 01, 2006 5:13 pm

Remember folks that the middle bench in its forward-facing position already has one lap belt - the central one.

When the seat is reversed the diagonals, being affixed to the pillars, are of no use.

If one obtains two discarded centre long lap belts they can be used for the outer seats.
These longer belts are affixed to the seat runner mounting bolt.

The outer lap belts use the existing buckle short belts that are already affixed to the seat.

Very simple and easy so to do.

There have been so many posts on the subject of seat belts and child seats that there is masses of information already available on the forum.
francofontain

Post by francofontain » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:14 pm

Its all well and good about the lesser impact with rear facing, but my main problem is fixing (securely) the seats, one is a forward facing and the other a baby carrier both of which require a 3 point belt to fit around the back and over the top of each seat. I have tried the search feature but not a great deal of explanation to overcome this, apart from buying a new seat for the older but no remedy for the younger. I am only 2 days into ownership so if someone could help with this (and treat me like the technodope that I am) I would be every grateful. :oops:
Cheers
franco
vanvliet
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Post by vanvliet » Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:57 pm

We had a child's seat placed in the middle of our Mondeo it was a 'Cosato 'I think . It had a three point child 's belt belt .
I removed the car's middle lap seatbelt and replaced it with a belt which passed through the mounting bar behind the seat .This belt allowed me to tighten it while kneeling on the seat This method secured the seat so that there was no movement at all .We did not remove it from the car until my son outgrew the seat ! I can send you the mounting belt for free as I came across it in the garage recently. If you want it then email me .
( though we are off on hols for a couple of weeks)
francofontain

Post by francofontain » Thu Aug 03, 2006 11:24 am

Thanks very much :D
PM on its way
Franco
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