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Any Unbelted Passenger is a Danger to Everyone

Without a seat belt, you are four times more likely to die in a crash, and in a crash, any unbelted passenger is a danger to ALL people in the vehicle.

When I asked American Honda to provide a means for larger passengers to fasten the seat belts in Hondas, they told me no. They also told me there was NOTHING I COULD DO to get them to change their policy.

Honda says that their seat belts meet existing federal requirements for the manufacture of seat belt assemblies. The problem is that federal regulations only require seat belts fit passengers up to 6 ft tall and 215 lbs. This regulation was written based on 40-year-old data, and at a time when we did not know the value of seat belts in saving lives.

I have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, asking that that the federal regulation regarding the manufacture of seat belt assemblies be changed to include people of all sizes, not just those who weigh less than 215 lbs, that seat belt extenders be available for purchase, and that longer seat belts be made an option on new vehicles.

I am not asking you, the government, other taxpayers, auto manufacturers, car dealers, or other car owners to pay for longer belts or extenders. I am not asking any manufacturer be required to modify their automobile design in any way.

Seat belt extenders are readily available on any commercial airplanes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency that writes the regulations for automobile manufacturers, says it sees no obstacles to offering extenders. Most car manufacturers already offer them, but not all. NHTSA plans to have a written proposal ready by October, 2001.

People are riding unbelted--large people, athletes, pregnant women. It may be your neighbor, your wife, someone you work with, your best friend, your mother-in-law, or a total stranger in another state.

Telling them to "buy a different car" is not a practical solution. A seat belt extender is about 8" long, costs about $25, and can be removed with one click when not needed.

Requiring car manufacturers to make seat belt extenders available to fit the vehicles they sell helps all of us be safer in our vehicles. It is the humane thing to do.

Do you disagree?

Background Information on the Campaign for Longer Seat Belts

In January of 1999 I became personally involved in the crusade for seat belt safety when I asked American Honda to help me fasten my seat belt.  They told me "No." 

On this website I will share with you my experience with American Honda. I will also share facts regarding Federal Regulation of the manufacturing of automobile seat belts, and what we can and must do so that seat belts will be made available for EVERY body.

Federal Regulation requires that automobile manufacturers provide seat belts that fit passengers only up to 215 pounds.

According to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for seat belt assemblies, the 95th percentile United States adult male is 215 lbs and 6 ft tall. This means that automobile manufacturers are not required to provide seat belts for approximately 15 million Americans. Fifteen MILLION.

Currently, 49 states have laws requiring seatbelt use by 100% of front seat occupants. Federal regulations cover only 95%. Do you fall into this forgotten 5% category? I do. Are you willing to put your life, and the lives of other passengers at risk? I simply am not.

Since in an accident, upbelted occupants are 4 times more likely to die than those who are belted, the lack of adequate seat belts for larger passengers is a PROBLEM in our society. The solution?

Seat belts must be made available for EVERY body.

Fortunately, most automobile manufacturers recognize that provisions must be made for larger passengers to buckle their seat belts.

This is a Chrysler seat belt extender. It costs around $25. This extender buckles into the existing seat belt to provide additional length, and can easily be removed and stored when not needed. Had Mara Nesbitt-Aldrich had a seat belt extender for the vehicle she was riding in on her honeymoon, she might not have broken the windshield with her head.

This is what a seatbelt extender looks like in use. Notice that the seat belt is worn under the stomach, and across the hips. In the event of an accident, that helps keep the occupant from sliding out underneath the seat belt.

Nissan, Buick, Chrysler, Eagle, GMC, Plymouth, Chevrolet, Lincoln, Ford, Mitsubishi, Mercury, Dodge, Mazda, Saturn, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Toyota, Cadillac, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Lexus, and Volvo are among the many automobile manufacturers who make these extenders available for passengers in their vehicles.

An extender is what I asked Honda for. They told me "No." Honda admits, "it would be easy and fairly inexpensive to provide extenders," but states that "it would not be in the best interest of [my] safety" for them to do so. When I asked Honda if they felt it would be safer for larger passengers to ride unbelted than to use a seat belt extender, they had no answer for me.

Click here to read my correspondence with Honda.

Here I am in my sister Rae's Honda Civic. Unfortunately, even
though I fit in the car just fine, the seat belt does not fit me.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency that writes federal safety regulations for automobile manufacturers, provides information on obtaining seat belt extenders for use with child seats.  Would they do this if extenders were unsafe?
• Twenty-two other automobile manufacturers provide extenders that custom fit the seat belts in their vehicles.  Would they do this if extenders were unsafe?
• General Motors' Engineering Director tells me that "belted occupants are safer than unbelted occupants even if those belts are used with an extender."   Would he say this if extenders were unsafe?
• There is no evidence that seat belt extenders, when properly utilized, are dangerous or harmful in any way.

Honda's refusal to provide a means for larger passengers to wear seat belts in their vehicles is ridiculous. It is obvious that the officials at Honda are unable to properly analyze this situation. Honda appears to have abdicated their social responsibility to safeguard ALL passengers in their vehicles because of some inflated concern about the possibility of lawsuits arising in connection with the use of seat belt extenders. I have come to this conclusion because in every communication I have had with Honda, they have deferred to their legal department, not their engineering department.

I am outraged at their behavior, and I am not alone.

In February of 1999, I created this website to draw attention to this issue. Thousands of people have visited this website, and I have received hundreds of letters, many from people who also contacted Honda and were refused adequate seat belts.

Twenty-two other manufacturers recognize the importance of providing seat belts for larger passengers, even though they are not required by federal regulation to do so. Honda tells me there is NOTHING I can do to get them to change their policy. Nothing.

Since Honda provides no means for larger passengers to wear seat belts in their vehicles, and because they continue to refuse to provide seat belt extenders as other manufacturers are doing, the only avenue for change appears to be to force them to do so by law. For those of you who are reading this website because you are directly affected by this issue, or simply because you care about seat belt safety, you have an opportunity to make a difference.

I urge you to contact your elected officials and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Let them know that seat belts should be available to fit EVERY body. Forty nine states require passengers to be belted; federal regulations need to be changed so that automobile manufacturers will be required to provide belts that fit all passengers who fit in their vehicles.

Our lives are worth protecting, regardless of the size or shape of our bodies, and I challenge the belief system and morality of any human being, corporation, or government agency that insinuates otherwise. Seat belts must be made available for EVERY body.

~Elizabeth Fisher
info@ifisher.com