The other night I was having a conversation with my family about our first cars and how we hated how our parents made us drive really safe, very uncool, cars as our first cars. We were comparing whose first car was the worst. I’m going to have to say I won hands down because my first car was so old there were no across the shoulder seat belts in it. That’s right. I said NO across the shoulder belt. Most of you who will be reading this today have probably NEVER even seen a car without a shoulder harness.
My first car was a 1971 LTD. Enormous. Gigantic. Colossal. The front of the car was in a different time zone than the back. I have seen yachts smaller than my car. So not hip or chic. I went to the snobby high school of the area so I would basically have to duck down while driving it into the school parking lot. Safe? Without a doubt. I think the car was modeled after an army tank. Nothing was hurting this car and I guarantee had I ever been in an accident, I would have walked away in mint condition. Now that I think about it, my car would’ve still been in mint condition as well. It was an indestructible tank. But, that is neither here nor there. You must read more about the seat belts.
The seat belt went across the lap. And it didn’t retract by itself. You had to adjust the strap just like you do on your belt you wear on your pants. Then, it had a second belt that hung from the ceiling that attached to the lap belt. It clicked in the lap belt piece. So really you had the option of whether or not to wear the should harness. It was not mandatory. And of course the seat belt light certainly did NOT light up if I chose not to wear it, which of course I never did. I used to have to give a demonstration on how to work the belt upon entering the car, much like a flight attendant.
My next car was the most modern of its kind. I got it in 1989 and it was 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse. Sporty. Sleek. Small. Awesome! And, it had the automatic shoulder harness. Score! You opened the door, the seat belt moved. You closed the door, it automatically went over your shoulder. How cool is that? Although, I still had to clip the lap belt manually, but at least it was retractable. No more having to self adjust the belt. The only problem I ran into with this was when I had the ignition running and opened the door. It basically became a noose. It would wrap around your neck and damn near kill you. But hey, at least it was modern!
Each car I’ve had after those had normal, modern, up-to-date, retractable, one pieced across the shoulder seat belts. Even the back seats had them! Wow! How I’ve advanced over the years. But, through all the different cars and seat belts, I’m going to have to say my most favorite kind, and probably the safest, and it is a timeless one, is the mom seat belt. You know the one: The arm that comes flying across your body the second the brakes begin to slam.
I have never understand what it is about this automatic reaction all moms have. I have NEVER seen a dad do this. What is it that we moms have inside us that causes us to throw our arm across the body of the passenger sitting next to us? I have even caught myself doing it when I have a bag sitting in the seat next to me. I laugh at myself every time I do it because I remember how it drove me crazy when my mom would do it to me. I remember the feeling of her long nails digging into my chest as she whipped her arm across my body. Hell, she still does it today.
Because my children are still too little, they sit in the back seat so they have not had the pleasure of experiencing the mom seat belt. But, the way I look at it, it is the best kind of seat belt out there. It is automatic without choking your neck when the door opens. It comes equipped in all cars driven my mom. It is added protection to your already federally mandated, safety approved standard seat belt. It is a classic. It will never go out of style. It may be uncomfortable and crush your chest, but it will always be there to protect you and who could ask for more than that?
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