Translation: All seatbelts in new vehicles will continue to have some way to lock pre-crash (in order to keep a child restraint securely in place), even after September 2012.
Now this might seem like trivial news to those who don’t spend their lives “doing their best work in the backseat,” but I assure you that it is VERY big news for anyone who has a kid in a carseat. You see, for reasons we don’t fully understand, NHTSA was going to allow vehicle manufacturers to go back to seatbelts without pre-crash locking features after September 2012 if the seating position had LATCH anchors. This was referred to as the “sunsetting” of the lockability standard of 1996. Had it happened, it would have meant no more switchable retractors, no more locking latchplates and a lot more locking clips for parents who didn’t want to, or couldn’t, use LATCH. And of course, more misuse of child restraints installed with seatbelts as a result.
Fortunately, after many years of lobbying by groups such as Safety Belt Safe USA and Safe Ride News, NHTSA has announced a final ruling on the matter. The verdict is… the lockability standard will continue! Whew! Kudos to all the advocates who dedicated significant time and effort during the last 5 or 6 years to ensure this outcome. You know who you are, and we all owe you BIG TIME!!!
Link to the federal register which includes this final ruling announcement.
@Kappy – Not silly at all! I’m not familar with this particular vehicle but we used to own a 2005 Ram 1500 Quad Cab. Which version do you have (Standard, Quad, Mega?) It’s possible that the middle seatbelt locks in a different way than the outboard seatbelts but they all MUST lock somehow. Do you have the vehicle owners manual? If so, read the section on installing child seats. The instructions may be different depending on the seating position. If you can’t figure it out – please post a question on our forum and we’ll do our best to help you find the answer! http://www.car-seat.org/forumdisplay.php?f=19
This is gonna sound silly, but does it apply to ALL seat belts in vehicles? In our 2010 Dodge Ram, the middle seatbelt (in the back) doesn’t lock, and of course my rear-facing XTSL won’t fit behind the front seats, so I’m forced to use a locking clip on it.. Ugh.
Anyway, just wondering if the seat belt is supposed to lock? I also can’t figure out how to use the top tether in that truck. I can’t find an actual metal anchor anywhere. Good thing we use my van all the time. :/
@DEFROST – I agree that a celebration is in order! Perhaps I should whip up a large batch of locking latchplate jello shots for all? Hmmm…maybe I can make *mojito* jello shots using rum and fresh mint with lime flavored jello! It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right? 😉
I’m actually feeling a bit silly over my level of excitement for this. I don’t think anyone who hasn’t routinely had to finagle locking clips for two carseat installs in 100-degree heat with 100% humidity can really understand. That sunset clause has been giving me palpitations and flashbacks ever since I first heard about it.
I think we techs should celebrate somehow!
Thank goodness!