| [ Total Views: 622 | Total Replies: 4 | Thread Id: 78398 ] | 
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|  Phil74Camper 
 
Son of Jim - Creator of Good 
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| posted on August 14th, 2009 at 08:33 AM |  |  | 
| Seat Belt 50th Anniversary 
 
 There's been a few news reports lately saying that the car seat belt has turned 50, and that Volvo can take the credit:
 
 http://www.cnet.com.au/happy-50th-three-point-seat-belt-339297922.htm
 
 Volvo didn't invent the seat belt - they were first patented in the USA in 1885 and had been fitted to aircraft since the 1930s. Volvo's first was
fitting a THREE POINT seat belt to a production car, in 1959.
 
 What no one has mentioned so far is that Volkswagen was the first car maker to fit seat belt mounting points to an Australian-made car, when the
1962½ model came with them as standard (front and back), long before Holden, Ford and Chrysler. They weren't required by law here until 1970.
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|  HappyDaze 
 
A.k.a.: Greg Mackie 
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| posted on August 14th, 2009 at 10:49 AM |  |  | 
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 Being a panel-beater back then, I could see what a good idea seat belts were. I fitted them - lap belts from an aircraft - to my Beetle in January,
1960.
 
 Cheers,   Greg
 
 
 
 
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|  vw54 
 
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| posted on August 14th, 2009 at 01:17 PM |  |  | 
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 ring the Telli up n give them a blast
 
 
 
 
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|  LUFTMEISTER 
 
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| posted on August 14th, 2009 at 04:04 PM |  |  | 
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 I thought seat belts were mandatory from 1966?
 
 
 
 
 Customer service is not dead in Australia.
 Always after HAZET & MATRA & VW factory tools
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|  Phil74Camper 
 
Son of Jim - Creator of Good 
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| posted on August 17th, 2009 at 10:58 AM |  |  | 
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 Nope, 1970 in Australia (for three-point belts).
 
 There were earlier regulations requiring cars to have belt mounting points fitted, but not belts.
 
 See http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/seatbelts.htm
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