Buckets - Harnesses - Road Legality - Help

[S22 JGS]

Can someone clear up the situation with road legality regarding removing seat belts, pretensioners etc and using just harnesses.

Can i remove the belt buckle, yet have to keep the belt?

Do i have to have both the buckle and the belt?

Or can i simply rip everything out, get renault to turn off the side bags and pretensioners (or fool system with resistors) and use just the harnesses.

Advice much appreciated.

 

[Turkish]

I pulled the lot out on mine and just ignored the light on the dash, lol.

I think as long as you have the correct number of seats and belts it's road legal. Although I have a feeling the actual buckle on some harness' arent road legal (the ones that have a quick release with a button in the centre/front IIRC)

 

[S22 JGS]

anyone else?

 

[S22 JGS]

bump

 

[Nafoff]

i want to know similar things.....

starting a slightly different thread..

 

[S22 JGS]

i aske dthe guy who passed my MOT yesterday and he just said "harnesses are safer than shoulder belts".... didnt answer my questions though LOL.

i know buckets and harnesses are safer!!! i wanna know, if i were to get randomly pulled by the cops, would i get a rollocking for not having and front shoulder belts and buckles/pretensioner?

And as far as i know, a road legal harness has to be the standard buckle type, ie, not fighter pilot style ones. Im happy with that, just need ot know answer to above!

 

[terribleclio]

from what i understand harnesses are illegal for road use. I can't understand why because they are safer but i do believe it has something to do with having to be able to put them on and take them off with one hand

 

[S22 JGS]

harnesses are legal - just certain ones

 

[S22 JGS]

oops...

but i still need to find an answer to my original question

 

[christurbo]

OK a proper and correct answer.

The legality is that you need to use UK Road Legal harnesses [not FIA]. These are harnesses that have the std clasp like your seatbelts with the red button. My Cobra Harnesses are road legal.

They also need to be mounted correctly.

You do not need the std belts installed with these harnesses - so remove them all including the pretentoners.

Regarding the dash lights - I dont think they can fail you for having an airbag light and MIL. If your worried about it either use the resistors [mine didnt work], get reault to turn them off [most wont], or do what I did and remove the binnacle and tape up the light recesses so that the LED cant shine through.


There you go.

 

[Peperami]

My airbag and service light is showing, and i just passed mot no problems.

Have removed everything from mine, all belts, pre-tensioners, buckles etc.

As for the release clasp, my friend has a new caterham, this came from the factory with 'fighter pilot' style release clasp on its caterham branded harnesses... so surely these are therefore road legal?

 

[christurbo]

No they are not. You may be lucky with the MOT station though. A couple of mates I have who have the Pilot style clasps and 3" harnesses in their Exiges have passed.... However the only road legal ones are the ones with the std clasp.

I looked into it before stripping mine out and buying harnesses - I wanted my Clio to be completely road legal [except for the CAT ]

 

[S22 JGS]

excellent!!!! TVM Chris - you have made me a very happy man.
Ill try and get renault to turn off the side bags an tensioners.

Is there any point having the front ones working if using harnesses? lol

 

[christurbo]

Nope - remove everything.

Good luck!

 

[Peperami]

Hmmm, i thought that, but if you had a big smash and the steering column came towards you surely it would help then?

Was thinking of changing mine for 3" harnesses with a proper buckle, didnt consider they'd not be road legal... eek.

What seats you looking at getting s22?

 

[S22 JGS]

Cobra Imola S

i may as well turn them all off i guess..... i wanna get a nice alcantara race wheel to match the doorcards.

 

[Peperami]

Cool

When you pop em in would be interested in comparing em to my monaco's...

Bound to be more comfy, but be good to see by how much.

 

[S22 JGS]

come along to the SE meet mate 25th march... they shall be on show then

 

[Nafoff]

peps sell the monaco's to me......

 

[christurbo]

I tested the Monaco's and Imola S' side by side - a huge difference in shape, the way they grip you and swallow you up, and the padding is nice and comfy.

Try them - you'll love them.

 

[GordonD]

from what i understand harnesses are illegal for road use. I can't understand why because they are safer

Properly adjusted harnesses are safer. But that requires each person using the vehicle to correctly readjust the belt for themself. And safety experts don't believe that would happen. The usual driver and passenger would be well protected, but anyone else driving or riding in the vehicle would be unfamiliar with how to adjust their seat's harness, and they'd put it on if they could, and leave it unadjusted, or leave it off altogether, leaving themselves less well protected than if the vehicle had its original self-adjusting lap-sash belts with pre-tensioners.

Given that, most jurisdictions around the world do not allow you to replace the standard self-adjusting lap-sash belts with harnesses. And they deem it to be "not wearing a seatbelt" if you are caught wearing a harness instead of the standard belt.

 

[christurbo]

^^^ Except for the UK - totally legal with the correct harnesses ^^^

Here are my Harnesses [totally road legal]
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls=ROAD&pcode=COBHARCL3B

 

[Englebert]

It's a crime to wear harnesses on the road, the Fashion Police told me.