How Safety Conscious are you?

Do you wear seat belts

  • Not often. Especially when off-road I don't go fast enough to necessitate seat belts.

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • I don't wear seat belts as often as I should.

    Votes: 6 8.7%
  • I wear seat belts almost all the time

    Votes: 18 26.1%
  • I never drive without seat belts

    Votes: 18 26.1%
  • I never move my Jeep unless all pasengers are buckled

    Votes: 26 37.7%

  • Total voters
    69
How Safety Conscious are you?
A teammate of mine in high school broke his neck on a roll bar during a wreck. Wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He was 17.
 
only when im wheelin or when the doors are off.
 
If there's a seat belt in it, I use it.. That being said, I have been driving my CJ around without the seat belts in it until I took the hard top off last Monday, That's when I finally dug them up and bolted them in, now I will use them all the time top on or off. I will be putting in the 5 point belts later this year, when I get my cage built. I have a YJ roll bar in my CJ, and it has the bars that attatch to the windshield, but I don't have them installed yet, that will be happening this weekend sometime, if for no other reason than to have something to grab onto while getting in, lol.. but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have the extra support for now.
 
I never wear a seat belt because the dictators say I have to as I believe that is my personal choice and not theirs..........But
I do always wear one when I am in my Jeep :D
 
That gave me an instant headache...

I always wear a seat belt whether driving or as a passenger. Only have lap belts in the Scrambler and Stingray; don't plan to modify that. I'm fine with just a roll bar. Had one save me in '87 in a 4-5 time rollover in a Toyota pickup. Got banged up and still use the same Chiropractor to this day, but no serious injury. I tend not to drive quite as fast or take turns as sharply anymore... ;-)
 
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I'm a little on the fence on this one. I've always warn seat belts, even when it wasn't fashionable to wear them. Like others have said, if you ride with me you wear your belt. My sister that is VERY heavy gets extremely upset with me when I insist on her wearing a belt. With that being said, I often drive off road without a belt on. However this isn't as foolish as it sounds. Out here in the west I hunt a lot using a vehicle. Generally I'm calling predators where it's drive, stop set up call, drive, set up call........ moving every 20 minutes or so. I'm not ramming around looking for trouble, I'm not going fast and the ground I'm on is relatively flat. When the terrrain starts to ip the seat belts go on.

I hate a roll cage, simple as that. But then again I'm not in the tall mountains and I'm not doing my best to drive fast enough to break my equipement. For me off roading is a necessity not a sport designed to push the limits of my ability and my equipement. I'm sick and tired of all the do gooders trytin to make the world a safe place for everything, we don't live in a bubble and the world isn't safe. It does nobody any good to pretend it is or can be. right here on this board a fellow just had a roll cage built, the darned thing looks like a high security jail with no windows. Even then there are a few posters that can't help but tell the man how poorly his cage is constructed. Sure I know, they are trying to be helpful, but my goodness man how does one breath anymore, how does one face the world, how can anyone find any sort of freedom. We are an overly pampered society and frankly I fear for the future of America. ........ But I do wear my seat belts such as they were back in 1975, a nice solid lap belt.
 
I've never seen this thread before but now that it's resurrected I'll give my two cents.
I've had my Jeep since 1982 and I've driven a few prior to having my own as a daily driver. I've seen a few in mishaps too. One of those being a friend who lost his life when it tipped over and his head hit the pavement. So at a young age I became aware of the possibilities of a roll over and how a short based, narrow track vehicle can be a different animal when it comes to stability. So 80% of the time my seatbelt is on, as are my passengers. Now that 20% is mostly putt'n around, flat ground type of stuff.

As for sport bars, roll bars, and roll cages. I've always wanted that front hoop look but never had the cash to do it. I remember in the younger days some guys (kids) even had them bent out of exhaust pipe! Oh to be young and dumb. But now that I've been restoring my Jeep I have the chance to fulfill the 'ol wishlist. But being older and wiser I put a bit more thought into it. I don't plan on being as wild and carefree as I might have once been so I'm not worried too much that way. But what I worry about is the other guy. The guy/gal that might not be paying attention and T-bone me. Or the patch of black ice I didn't see. Or the sudden swerve I might have to make to avoid that "other guy". So to be "pro-active" I added a front hoop, a dash bar, and 4 spreaders of hrew tubing to my existing factory "sport bar" and tied all 6 points into my frame. I've also added some heavy duty sliders below the rockers, also welded to the frame.
Will it keep me alive... maybe not, but I've got a much greater chance of avoiding injury to me or my passengers than I had in it's factory configuration. So yes, safety is a major concern when riding in my Jeep.:oops:
 
^this. Hedgehog thanks for the compliment on my high security jail cage. I know it wasn't built the best but it was built to protect my young kids. And it was built with a budget I could afford. I take in everyone's comments and learn and move on. For now it will do. Especially with urban driving as silly as that sounds. I never know when some a hole will blow a light and plow into me. At least me kiddos are safer then the stock roll bar.

That being said I get tired of all the BS excuses and attitudes about not wearing seatbelts. I'm a paramedic. I see it a lot. I don't care about freedoms and the old days. Just wear the damn seatbelts. They are there for a reason.

Yes safety is a big concern for me too. As the world gets dumber it gets more dangerous.
 
I understand your concerns. What bothered me were the it isn't good enough comments. Golly your cage looks mighty tough to me, as it is if it is over come in a street accident very little would save the passengers.

I do wear my belt almost ALL the time, especially on the road and have never complained about using them. Lately I've been thinking about upgrading to the newer style. I do think we are becoming too soft though, it seems like people are beginning to believe we should be safe from everything, all the time. Maybe the people you consider to be dumb would have learned a thing or two about being smarter if they lost a little skin off their knees when they were young. ...... then there's texting while driving, I guess there is little hope.

...... Yes I'm being a little over the top and I know it, I'm just frustrated with some of the senseless violence we've been seeing in the news lately.
 
I agree 100% with you hedgehog. I knew people would chime in. That's why I put it out there. I knew what my budget was and what my goals were. I just wanted constructive criticism which is what I got. And the jail cage comment could not have been more perfect. Here's why:
my oldest did say to me " daddy, your jeep looks like a jail in back, do we get to sit in it"

I think most on this board are safety conscious. I think as parents you want your kids to be safe. Well safety passed down through generations only gets better with people who are responsible enough to practice it. Now if we could only thin the dumb herd a little!
 
I wear my seat belt all the time thanks to my car and wifes car having an annoying bell to remind me :mad: I am also planing to add the YJ family back bars (with spreader bar)for the kids and tie the cage into the frame. I dont want my kids hurt either. Im still on the fence about a bar over the door and behind the dash tho
 
I am also planing to add the YJ family back bars (with spreader bar)for the kids and tie the cage into the frame. I dont want my kids hurt either. Im still on the fence about a bar over the door and behind the dash tho

Those things scare me, the bars over the doors. First of all they are merely bolted to the B-pillar hoop on a thin metal mount. And the other end is bolted to sheetmetal, and usually rusted sheetmetal at that. In any direction other than straight back, that w.s. frame is going to collapse and push that bar in some other direction, quite possibly down into the driver or front passenger. Those bars were strictly for looks, and maybe some assistance getting in.
The rear "family" bars are pretty much the same and will fold in sideways towards the rear seat. But putting a spreader between is a good improvement. As long as it's not just an add on bar that clamps on, because that will just rotate around the "family bar" legs with a side impact and allow them to fold just as before.

I'm just not big on those Wrangler sport bars. They were no better than the Jeeps sport bar but potentially more dangerous.
We can always debate how the various bars hold up, and keep in mind there are variances of a slow tip over vs. a roll, or flat land roll vs. a sidehill roll, etc. But one thing is for sure, we don't get to pick when, where, and how the situation will happen! So plan ahead.:)
 
on the subject of roll bars/sport cage s. something is better than nothing and chances are good we will not hit the wall at 150 mph. :cool:
 
Those things scare me, the bars over the doors. First of all they are merely bolted to the B-pillar hoop on a thin metal mount. And the other end is bolted to sheetmetal, and usually rusted sheetmetal at that. In any direction other than straight back, that w.s. frame is going to collapse and push that bar in some other direction, quite possibly down into the driver or front passenger. Those bars were strictly for looks, and maybe some assistance getting in.
The rear "family" bars are pretty much the same and will fold in sideways towards the rear seat. But putting a spreader between is a good improvement. As long as it's not just an add on bar that clamps on, because that will just rotate around the "family bar" legs with a side impact and allow them to fold just as before.

I'm just not big on those Wrangler sport bars. They were no better than the Jeeps sport bar but potentially more dangerous.
We can always debate how the various bars hold up, and keep in mind there are variances of a slow tip over vs. a roll, or flat land roll vs. a sidehill roll, etc. But one thing is for sure, we don't get to pick when, where, and how the situation will happen! So plan ahead.:)


Ya my roll bar plans are not set, I was trying to stay stockish looking, I was hoping to be able to buy the roll bar padding from Best top we will have to see as I get closer to being finished :rolleyes:
 
Do "factory style" roll bars work? Back in the late 60's I built one using 3x3x1/4" angle and hydraulically bent 2" rigid conduit (about .120 wall) and then proceeded to do some dynamic testing on it with a 55 mph end for end flip. It depressed the body rails about 3" under the B pillar but when removed, the bar showed no deflection what-so-ever. If properly mounted, they will work. But maybe not in every situation. Still have that roll bar in a 5.

As to whether such a bar would work with a glass tub, maybe, but I'm absolutely not going to be the one testing it.

My personal opinion is that off-road you do have a lot of control as to what conditions you are putting yourself in. If I find myself stuck someplace I'd rather not be, I either back off or string cable-or both. Where I think you need roll over protection the most is on-road. You have no control of the other idiots out there and the dynamic forces can be potentially much higher.
 
Blue Jeep with front cage and a hot 350 sbc rolled by a teenager on the street.


Red Jeep with front cage; rolled on the freeway while pulling house trailer.




CJRoll4_zps1e479f16.jpg
 
Without roll bar

cherokeeroll_zps9b5d1f11.jpg
 
Rolled in the dunes at Glamis.
Driven home pulling house trailer shown.
Same owner of the other red CJ5 that rolled.
This 72 Jeep replaced the other red Jeep.



CJRoll5_zps4ca30b0f.jpg
 

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