Legality of a racing harness on the road
 

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone knew the legality of having a race harness on the roads? As far as I know, so long as the back seats are removed (i.e. it can't be possible for someone to sit in the rear seats) it is ok.

Any info would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

John

i dont THINK they are, but realistically mate, i had them in my old drifter RX7 and i took them out... They suck for street use, pain in the ass to get into and out of, and if you use them properly, your range of movement in the car is highly limited, you cant really move to check blindspots it just annoys the crap outa you. Id say if you were that keen on them, use them for track days etc and take em out again

Oh, should have put that in the original post... I'm not going to go driving around all the time with them on... I was just wondering about the legality if I'm travelling to and from an event and can't be bothered taking them off till I get back home :D

Day to day driving would be a major pain in the ass!

I have been pulled over wearing one and didnt get any hassles. If you wanted to be absolutedly sure, just wear your seat belt as well and you should be fine.

You would think the cops would give you a gold star for being ultra safe wouldnt you?

Lets see what they prefer... a big fuck off turbo or;
a racing harness?

[QUOTE=DAN682]You would think the cops would give you a gold star for being ultra safe wouldnt you?

Lets see what they prefer... a big fuck off turbo or;
a racing harness?[/QUOTE]


its harder to get out of the car with a harness on... thats there reasoning for making them illegal

I think without a rollcage a harness is more dangerous in the event of a flip. Harness would prevent you from making any attempt to move from the impact - either reflex action or intentional. You'd have zero alternative but to take the full impact on the top of your head.

And then there's the question of how the harness is fixed. If its a dodgy clip into rear parcel shelf, then its probably not going to restrain you at any imapct at speeds close to speed limit. Guess that equation all depends on weight of driver and other factors...

Harnesses really need to be installed properly to be ultra safe too, and I bet there are many people who dont install them correctly....this would be the main reason that they are frowned upon by the po-po.

The two important things to remember are:

1. The belts cant be attached at more than a 45 degree angle relative to the back of the seat. If they are, its a great way to compress your spine in an accident because it pulls down on your shoulders rather than holding you back into the seat.

2. If they are bolted into the rear parcel shelf, spread plates are required to fit underneath the shelf, NOT just ordinary nuts. These are basically plates with a nut in the middle, which "spread" the load over a larger area and prevent the bolts tearing out in a big accident.

another thing to consider, airbags are designed with the movement of your seatbelt in mind, and is supposed to deploy and catch your face as you move towards the steering wheel. in an accident with a harness, you'll cop the full force of the airbag to the face, which could very well kill you

Thanks for the replies guys.

Just so you know I'm getting a proper chrome moly harness bar fabbed up at RMS, so it will all be secure, despite my fat arse being in the drivers seat :D

I will probably just clip the harness in when I get down to the track, but this has always been one of my "i wonder if" questions, as you hear all different stories from all different ppl.