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  • Feb. 26, 2011 12:54 p.m. Stealthtercel Reader

    My wife was talking today to an acquaintance whose daughter recently rolled her car on black ice (and walked away, thankfully.) When the car was stopped & on its roof, she was hanging upside down in her seatbelt, and – here's the part I don't get – the seatbelt wouldn't release "until she put the car in gear," which I'm assuming is Mom-speak for "put the car in Park."

    Is this really true? You can't get out of a modern seatbelt unless the car is in Park? Our newest car is an '05 MPV, which was an old design by that time, so I'm a bit out of touch with Current Trends in Passive Protection, but what's up with this?

    Suppose you drive off the road into water and have to get out really, really soon? It's going to be tough enough to remember everything Adam Savage showed you about what to do in this situation without also remembering to put the damn thing in Park.

    Knowledgeable information welcomed!

  • peter

    Feb. 26, 2011 12:57 p.m. peter Reader

    I'm guessing that hanging down in the seatbelt put enough tension on the buckle that the belt could not be released. Simply moving around to put the car "in gear" was enough to shift her weight so that the belt could be released.

    Not entirely sure how that would happen, but I know if there's enough tension on the buckle it is hard/impossible to release it.

  • sachilles

    Feb. 26, 2011 12:58 p.m. sachilles Dork

    More likely is gravity was making the buckle too tight to release.

  • novaderrik

    Feb. 26, 2011 12:58 p.m. novaderrik HalfDork

    sounds about right. reminds me of those people with runaway Toyota's that somehow didn't remember that all they had to do was calmly push and hold the "start" button for 5 seconds to get the car to shut off- while their car was accelerating out of control and wouldn't allow them to put the trans in neutral..

  • jimbob_racing

    Feb. 26, 2011 1:48 p.m. jimbob_racing HalfDork

    novaderrik wrote:

    sounds about right. reminds me of those people with runaway Toyota's that somehow didn't remember that all they had to do was calmly push and hold the "start" button for 5 seconds to get the car to shut off- while their car was accelerating out of control and wouldn't allow them to put the trans in neutral..

    You can't just turn the key and shut it off?

  • peter

    Feb. 26, 2011 1:50 p.m. peter Reader

    jimbob_racing wrote:

    You can't just turn the key and shut it off?

    No. And in many cases, there was no key, just some electronic doo-dad that gets plugged into the dash.

    I would love to see a recall where the fix is to install a racing-style red battery-disconnect lever in the dashboard. Stylish and functional!

  • thatsnowinnebago

    Feb. 26, 2011 3:06 p.m. thatsnowinnebago Dork

    peter wrote:

    jimbob_racing wrote:

    You can't just turn the key and shut it off?

    No. And in many cases, there was no key, just some electronic doo-dad that gets plugged into the dash.

    I would love to see a recall where the fix is to install a racing-style red battery-disconnect lever in the dashboard. Stylish and functional!

  • thatsnowinnebago

    Feb. 26, 2011 3:06 p.m. thatsnowinnebago Dork

    peter wrote:

    jimbob_racing wrote:

    You can't just turn the key and shut it off?

    No. And in many cases, there was no key, just some electronic doo-dad that gets plugged into the dash.

    I would love to see a recall where the fix is to install a racing-style red battery-disconnect lever in the dashboard. Stylish and functional!

    This.

  • novaderrik

    Feb. 26, 2011 3:40 p.m. novaderrik HalfDork

    the whole point of the push button ignition switch was to make it look like a race car- a big red battery disconnect mounted in the middle of the dash would just be continuing that theme and make the new Toyota Camry just like the NASCAR version..

  • Rob_Mopar

    Feb. 26, 2011 5:26 p.m. Rob_Mopar HalfDork

    peter wrote:

    jimbob_racing wrote:

    You can't just turn the key and shut it off?

    No. And in many cases, there was no key, just some electronic doo-dad that gets plugged into the dash.

    I would love to see a recall where the fix is to install a racing-style red battery-disconnect lever in the dashboard. Stylish and functional!

    Yea, but on the Prius you need a good old Dr. Frankenstein's lab style switch cutoff switch.

  • 914Driver

    Feb. 26, 2011 7:44 p.m. 914Driver SuperDork

    I don't think Park is related to seat belts. Find the same car and try it, now you know.

    Now, DRLs, that's another issue! Why not make the day time running lights connected to the shifter? Hey, warming up the SUV, why annoy the neighbors? Oy!

    Seriously, I believe gravity and addrenalin was in play here.

    Dan

  • neon4891

    Feb. 26, 2011 10:53 p.m. neon4891 SuperDork

    peter wrote:

    jimbob_racing wrote:

    You can't just turn the key and shut it off?

    No. And in many cases, there was no key, just some electronic doo-dad that gets plugged into the dash.

    I would love to see a recall where the fix is to install a racing-style red battery-disconnect lever in the dashboard. Stylish and functional!

    And it would match the racing style push button starters!

  • ZOO

    Feb. 27, 2011 9:19 a.m. ZOO SuperDork

    914Driver wrote:

    I don't think Park is related to seat belts. Find the same car and try it, now you know.

    Now, DRLs, that's another issue! Why not make the day time running lights connected to the shifter? Hey, warming up the SUV, why annoy the neighbors? Oy!

    Seriously, I believe gravity and addrenalin was in play here.

    Dan

    Lots of cars have them wired to the e-brake -- but if you don't have a manual transmission I guess that's not an entirely useful feature for the neighbour's sake.

  • Feb. 27, 2011 12:40 p.m. Stealthtercel Reader

    "Find the same car and try it, now you know."

    Good advice, but it will take some research. I was simply laughed at when I asked my wife what kind of car it was. Apparently the only thing of interest to the participants in the original discussion was the health of the people involved.

    But she did report that the idea of putting it in Park came from a paramedic on the scene who had encountered this before.

 
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