As a kid in the 60s, everyone in the car (50 Bug, 61 Bug, 62 Bug, then
finally a 67 21 Wdw Dlx Bus,) wore seatbelts fore and aft.  Even if VW
didn't provide them and standard equipment then, they were optional (and
there were mounting points in two of the Bugs) and my father took full
advantage of it whenever possible.  My father, being somewhat of a
hot-rodder in the 50s (Oldsmopiles) and an aircraft buff saw the benefits
of using seat belts even though we were never put to the test of their
usefulness.  I've never rode or driven car for most of my life without at
least a lap belt.  In cars that didn't have proper mounting points, my
father would (particularly in the Rear Seat area) beef up the location
where the belt would mount.  I remember the 62 Bug I rode around in had
mounting points for front shoulder belts in the B-Pillar and they were
optionally available and they were installed/utilized.  Myself, I never got
the impression we were strange in using them, it was usually the other way
around with people not using them, even after the US mandated their
installation after 1967.

Whenever I have purchased a VW of any vintage, I've always replaced cruddy,
torn (and usually unused) belts or retrofitted them.

Jim Thompson
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
oldvolkshome@earthlink.net
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
***************************
> [Original Message]
> From: David Brodbeck <gull@GULL.US>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Date: 6/3/04 6:14:53 AM
> Subject: Re: Non-Family Hauler
>
> On Wed, 2 Jun 2004, Aristotle Sagan wrote:
>
> > Nope, no way. The kids like the 84 van but ya know, no shoulder belts,
no
> > rides. As soon as the kids were out of baby seats, the van became a
extra.
>
>Then David wrote:
> It's amazing how times change.
>
> When I was a kid, *none* of the vehicles I rode in ever had rear safety
> belts.  (They didn't appear in most American cars until well into the 90s,
> and then only for the outboard seats.)  When I was really young, I
> remember sharing the middle seatbelt in an old Ford pickup with my sister.
> That truck didn't even have a padded dashboard.  In fact, I got the
> impression we were a bit unusual as a family for even wearing seatbelts at
> all.
>
> Most people are a lot more safety-conscious these days, and that's a Good
> Thing.
>
>
> David Brodbeck, N8SRE
> '86 Volvo 240DL wagon
> '82 VW Vanagon Westfalia Diesel