Tuesday, 28 April 2015

A sensible discussion on seatbelts and child safety in older mororhomes


Hi everyone, need some advice and I'm sure I will get some here. I have got a 1989 s555, now I need to get some seat belts fitted in the rear for the kids any suggestions on how to go about it and what I need to do. It looks as though someone might of had some lap belts fitted at some point, but I'm not sure. Need to be able to put in at least one 3 point seat belt for baby car seat. Any help would be much appreciated.
  • John Drew sent you a message
  • Richard Wadham-Smith Hi John Drew I don't seem to have got your message. Thanks
  • Danny Stan it would be easier t buy a new motorhome
  • Lois Osborne-Carey Best get some proper advice I looked into this and most people advise not to as fitting new seat belts can be a minefield to making them legal to pass your mot etc. good luck be interested to know otherwise 
  • Dippy Hippy Richard check your "other" inbox it may have gone into there if John is not listed as a friend. Just a thought??
  • Jenni Regan One of the reasons we ended up with a newer (97) van was the seatbelt issue. I think you may struggle to get it done legally. Happy to be corrected though, so if anyone has had it done, I'd love to know more.
  • Martin N Christine Spillar Richard I have looked into this, so that our 2 grandkids can travel with us, we have an s550 1990 rear U shaped lounge. It is fairly easy to fit lap belts with extra strengthening under the rear seat but to get the 3rd fixing requires a lot of metalwork down to the chassis. the rear end is just not strong enough to anchor the 3rd fixing. It seemed a lot of work and not sure how it could be certified. Eventually decided on lap belts. Sorry not much help.
  • Colin Newby Older motorhomes generally didn't need seat belt anchorage points other than the front seats, if for your own peace of mind you fit lap belts, perhaps bolted through to the chassis, you will have done as much as humanly possible, obviously sideways facing seats will never be safe anyway, but it will stop the passengers being thrown about in the event of emergency avoiding action for example. With regard to the mot, simply remove them before the test, no legal need to be fitted, if not in can't be tested.
  • Colin Newby PS, my 534 rear u shaped lounge original Hymer instruction book 1990, shows 4 sideways seats, ie 2 each side in the back, my UK supplied van was inspected by the french authorities when imported here and those positions are marked both on the paperwork and in the van.
  • Peter Curry hi sorry to put a damper on things but most dealers will now remove sideways facing seat belts of any style on the advice of corporate lawers due to risks involved of spinal injury from twisting efect when in a colision. they have pretty much been outlawed since about 2000. and very few people have gone to the expense of crash testing retro fit frames. I can not get insurance to cover anything i do in the way of altering or fitting seatbelts.

  • Danny Stan Unless you have manufacturer fitted mounting points for seat belts you cannot add them easily or cost effectively. Like many things nowadays fitting something as Simple as a seatbelt could end up opening a whole can of worms that really isn't worth getting into...
    15 hrs · Like
  • Ron Bentham My take on this is that everybody is right to a degree. The true path lies in your own personality and attitude to risk. If you are the PC molly coddling type who wraps his children in cotton wool, and would be near suicidal if they even got a scratch, then indeed you may have made a mistake, and in order to comply with the letter of the law, and be able to prove that you did absolutely everything in your power to protect them, then a new van with manufacturer installed security is the only option. However if you are pragmatic, do your research, and then do whatever you can, in the realisation that just like air travel, sometimes shit happens, then you should be able to enjoy your motorhome. xxxx comments are spot on as usual. Danny is also right - you are unlikely to get type approval. The baby should be able to occupy the front passenger seat in a special chair secured by the installed 3 point belt. The 555 has front and rear facing dinette seats, and you should be able to fit lap belts, it is up to you to do research into how, and what is the best way. Of course these will be unapproved, and probably not very effective in certain situations, but they will prove that you did think about it and address the problem to the best of your ability. They will also send out the right signal to the kids and stop them running around playing cowboys and indians on the M6! It is highly unlikely that you will ever be involved in a life threatening smash - not impossible, but unlikely. And don't forget that there are thousands of non standard vehicles on the road, the authorities know this, and they only legislate to protect the majority. What they don't like is recklessness and irresponsibility. I also suggest that you do further research - Germany is famous for it's rules and regulations, so perhaps one of our German friends can explain what has been going on over there. My memories are vague, but I am sure I have seen all sorts of belts hanging around all sorts of Hymers and other vans over the years, so you are not the first person to face this dilemma. Lastly - do a bit more general research, in particular news articles. I am unaware that there has been any major scandal or tragedy on this subject, but Google is so good that an hour or so of diligent reading should give you a good grounding on both the official and unofficial view. The various caravan clubs should also have official policies available to guide you, but it is unlikely they will be anything more than "cover their backs" common sense guidelines.
    14 hrs · Like · 6
  • Samantha Barfoot In our S550 we have 3 lap belts in the rear, two side facing, one on the rear bench seat.We also had an engineer fix an isofix bar on the rear bench seat so we can use a baby seat.We have 3 children and carry them like this.I looked into this extensively when we had the youngest and decided the isofix is the only option, it was impossible to get 3 point belts fitted. We feel this is the safest option , no belts for them seemed more unsafe than lapbelts. Also its driven differently from a car so we decided this was best for us. Good luck.
    9 hrs · Edited · Unlike · 2
  • Colin Newby The attitude of rule makers is to cover their backs, a small example, I took a 1933 car for a UK mot, having fitted flashing indicators ( which obviously were never there in the first place ,having not been invented!),the tester said he wouldn't pass it because the front lights were too near the centre line of the car to legally comply. Pointing out there was no other place to mount them was not the answer he wanted to hear of course. After a long discussion I told him OK I'll fix it , good he said you can have an mot, what do you intend to do? Easy I'll make the car comply and be safer I'll take them off! He gave me the test. The attitude of insurance companies and the law is about looking after themselves, if I was still in the trade I wouldn't fit belts either, and clearly changing to a newer van would solve it, but may not be an option.Look after your own interests, and you'll be OK.
    8 hrs · Like · 1
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