Minnesota Door Mounted Seatbelt Attorneys

In 1969, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) took steps to require airbags or other “passive” restraints in all motor vehicles, the thinking being that cars needed to protect occupants who chose not to wear their seatbelts. In other words, vehicles needed “passive” restraint systems that worked even if the operator didn’t buckle up. But airbags were expensive to design, make and implement. So rather than implementing airbag designs in all of their vehicles, many auto makers chose to use automatic belts as a cheaper form of passive restraints.

Automatic belt systems tend not to fit many occupants properly. The top of the shoulder belt is mounted on the door or door frame, the belt often crosses against the neck – rather than the clavicle – of shorter occupants. Belts across throats cause horrific trachea and cervical spine injuries, especially in frontal crashes.

One particularly bad design, the door mounted automatic seatbelt, is shown below.

This design is especially troublesome because, in addition to the belt fit problems, if the door opens in the crash, the occupant is essentially left unbelted next to an open door.

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*Nate Bjerke is the Chair of the Minnesota Association for Justice Product Liability Committee

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