Shoulder harness exemption

[ColonelMustard]

Hi all, haven’t posted here in years but glad MUD is still around.
Does anyone know if there is a vehicle code that exempts the wearing of a shoulder harness on vehicles that originally didn’t have them?
I got into a debate with a young cop that gave me grief over not having a correct seat belt with a shoulder harness. It was civil and he didn’t cite me but would like to have more concrete facts other than just my second hand information.

 

[4x4veteran]

As far as I know, if a vehicle was built before seat belts were mandatory then it is exempt.
Of course this could vary from state to state.
I am pretty sure that if you have belts installed in a vehicle that came with out and you are not using the belts you can be sighted.

I first started using seat belts in 1970 and installed them in all the older pre-belt cars that I owned.

My advise is a shoulder belt whether it is mandatory or not.

By best example is the up grade I did on my 70 FJ40 a few years after I got it.

My wife complained that she liked it better with just the lap belt.

About a year later we went to Pismo for the 4th of July and I laid the cruise on it's left side.

There we were with me looking up at my wife hanging there above me.

I asked if she was ok and she and said yes so seeing as how I didn't have the top on I crawled out and with the help of some friends we pushed the 40 back on all fours and it didn't even break the side mirror.

The wife never complained about the shoulder belt again.

 

[3_puppies]

being polite, ask the officer what statute he is referring to, and read what it says.

if it is his opinion, he can't cite you for that.

 

[lelandEOD]

Good grief.

Did he want to cite you for not having air bags either???

 

[71FFJ40]

California Motor Vehicle Code 27315 VC

Lap belt is Ok.Shoulder portion of belt (if present) must also be worn

 

[Brian/99uzj100]

CA vehicle code 27315 sec. d, paragraph 2
upper (shoulder) portion of the belt, IF PRESENT

 

[Brian/99uzj100]

71FFJ40 beat me to it!

 

[lcwizard]

Cal has always made up it's own rules despite federal mandates. In Az a vehicle older than the federal mandate for
seatbelts is exempt if they aren't installed. There's no requirement to retrofit. States have the right to overrule federal
law until someone challenges it. I had a CHP officer tell me that it's illegal to drive a car or truck pulling a trailer in the
fast lane of the freeway in all 50 states... He'd obviously not traveled much. Another told me the tint on my window was illegal
in Cal. It was the factory window tint. All you can do is say "I'm sorry , won't happen again"

 

[Rigger]

I’ve understood that there is no law anywhere requiring an upgrade beyond how the vehicle was originally manufactured.

(I’ve encountered more than my share of ignorant cops, too.)

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

This has @dieseldog written all over it.

 

[dieseldog]

This has @dieseldog written all over it.

And SODOMY has @rkymtnflyfisher written all over it.

that, and urinal mints.

I can't tell what other states dictate; however, in most sane places, they don't require you to have equipment with which the vehicle wasn't equipped when orginally sold. They certainly don't in Texas.