Any breakage of the rear bench seat belt was most likely due to damage
that occurred to it before the accident. I have seen plenty of them that
have been repeatedly caught up in the bench mechanism with numerous cuts
to prove it. Others I have seen were clearly exposed to abrasions and
chemicals from items stored under the bench.

You may be able to argue that the ease with which the seat belts get
damaged is itself a defect but it is not a weakness of the belt itself
IMHO. At some point the owner bears some responsibility to replace
damaged belts and avoid future damage.

I have also seen plenty of front seat shoulder belts with damage from
gnawing, presumably by pets left in the vehicle while the owner shopped
or something.

Mark

Geza Polony wrote:

>No, but it's worth doing...
>
>I mis-titled this when I put it on yesterday. It's a lawsuit brought against
>VW of America by accident victims in Maine about 10 years ago, in which a
>Vanagon spun out on black ice, killed and maimed their kids because, as they
>claimed, the seat belts BROKE during the accident! The evidence was
>disallowed in court because the Vanagon had already gone to the wreckers,
>and because of this VW won both the original case and an appeal. Here's the
>case:
>
>http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=98-1812.01A
>
>Personally, I believe the testimony of the plaintiffs, even though I can see
>why the evidence was thrown out.
>
>Conclusion: OEM seatbelts are inadequate, especially in the rear, because
>they don't include shoulder belts and because THEY BREAK on serious impact.
>
>Sobering thought. Now back to something more fun.
>
>
>Geza
>
>
>
>