Are racing harnesses street legal?
 

Like your typical four to six belt camloack harness. Can I ditch my stock seatbelt and use this with a rollbar, instead, for daily street use?

I dont see why they would be illegal. As far as I know they are because they keep you down better than stock seat belts. I don't know about using it for daily driving cas they would be too much of a hassle to get in and out of your car.

I can't see why not. The only thing thats going to get you in trouble is doing 150mph and being pulled over and saying "its o.k. officer, I have safety equipment"

Most are not DOT legal..

WHy?

Sure, they hold you in better. But you also don't have a roll cage to protect you if you roll the car.. 3 point belts will allow your body to slide inwards in the event of a roll over, and not hold you upright to be squished if the roof collapses.

So no, harnesses are generally NOT street legal.

PaulC

are roll cages DOT approved?

Not that I've ever heard, unless it's integral to the car from the factory (think S2000, Boxster, etc)..

PaulC

I don't see why a four or six belt system would be illegal or not be able to hold you down in a role over accident. I think he will be using this with a role cage Silkworm. I would call and talk with a local track or DOL they would know for sure. I don't think a role cage is DOT approved but not illegal.

Knock your self out :) I don't care what you guys do, just telling you what I believe is the facts.. Personally, the chances of you rolling a car on the street and causing the roof to collapse is like 1 in a billion.. I'd be far more worried about mr DUI out there. Just my .02$

PaulC

Yea - if you roll an rx7, chances are you're friggin' dead.

they are illegal in BC. I guess it depends on your state laws. the law says the joint has to be at the side. all the harness have them in the middle. also a 4 point will cause you do dive under it.

He was saying he would have a cage. If he doesn't have a cage, I would NOT have harnesses for the reasons mentioned above. You'll screw yourself if you've got harnesses and the roof collapses.

You can check with your local constabulary, but.......

Most harness manufacturers do not put their products through the certification process to gain DOT certification for several reasons. First, it's expensive. Second, the surroundings of a driver in a street car are drastically different than a driver in a race car. Thus, each harness was designed to operate best in it's respective environment. Some manufacturers, like Schroth ( www.schroth.com ), have some DOT-approved harness kits, but they are usually 2" instead of 3" belts, and are designed totally different from racing harnesses.

Obviously, you can all choose to do whatever you like, but don't be surprised if you get pulled over and get ticketed even though you think you are being "safer".

Actually, he said he would be using a rollbar, not a cage. Virtually all rollbar kits come with a disclaimer saying that they are intended to be "cosmetic" only, and not to count on them as a safety item, in the event of a crash.

The reason that roll cages/bars are not DOT approved, and don't need to be, is because they do not REPLACE any factory designed safety item, they only supplement them. In the case of the harnesses, JumpyRoo wanted to "ditch my stock seatbelt and use this with a rollbar, instead, for daily street use", thus, he was not supplementing a factory safety item, he was replacing it. Now if you wanted to run your racing harnesses over your stock belt and use them both, that's your call. It might not have the same "pimp factor", but it might meet the letter of the law with The Man. :)

A guy in my car club has a 10 second Z28. He has a full roll cage and harnesses, but he has to use the stock seatbelts when driving on the street. He found out the hard way that racing harnesses aren't legal. He got a ticket for it:(

Justr cause something is safer, doesn't make it street legal. Why can't you run a tube frame chassis on the street?

Yup yup..

Sorry, bit inebriated at the moment, but I need to clarify.. You asked if the harnesses were street legal, not if they were safe with a roll bar. They are not street legal (except for a few caseS), period. You can argue the merits of the harness all day long, but until a manufacturer goes thru the tests to make them street legal, they aren't...

Sorry

PauLC

I don't think you want to drive your car around with the helmet on, since you'd need it to keep from knocking yourself silly on the cage if you do wreck...

That's gay.. he should have argued it.. that's pathetic, with a full cage, full harnesses are more safe than a regular seatbelt.

It's the simple fact that the manufacturers of the cage or harness never went through all the hoops of making them certified by the NTSB or NHSB. SO, even though they are sometimes a safer restraint, it doesn't necesseraly make the a legal restraint. ( NO pun intended)

These sorts of answers really annoy me. He asked if it was legal, not whether you think it’s legal or your opinion of whether it should be legal!
Every state probably has different laws for these things, so you should always check with your state’s (or country’s) laws before you spend your money. If it’s against the law, it’s against the law. Unfortunately, disagreeing with a law is not a defence against it. There are reasons for these being illegal on the street in some places. Without a helmet, cages can be dangerous due to the likelihood of cracking your skull on it in an accident. Harnesses have a much better case for safety, but it comes down to proving the quality of the product before it can be made legal. There’s also the concern of the difficulty in removing a harnessed person from a wrecked car in a hurry. Some are much better than others, but again it comes back to proving every product. Car manufacturers have to do extensive testing to prove their safety equipment, will the aftermarket do that too? Unlikely...

A guy in my AutoX club got nailed for "showing tire rub on the frame". His plates were pulled and he could not get them back until he got a "Safety" inspection. They nailed him again because the hood latch was not in place....he had 4 fully-functional hood pins on the car. Go Figure.

Z

In California, anything that replaces the stock seatbelt that isn't DOT approved is illegal. Therefore in CA, if you have a 4-6 point harness, even if you have a roll bar and a helmet on, it is illegal.

I see no reason for people in street cars to use them. I used the one in the Project 86 when I drove it to track events, but that was because it had no regular seatbelts :D. It was not a daily driver.

u can get in trouble for showing tire rub? i never knew that.

Schroth Rallye 3 and 4 harnesses ARE street legal. They are the only ones that are legal. They're a bit more expensive than regular harnesses, but well worth it.

Shows how much a DOT cert is worth! 4-points suck, you will submarine out from under them. I'd much rather have an SFI or FIA sticker than a DOT sticker. But that doesn't make it legal. Same with brake lines. To get a DOT cert, SS lines have to have the ends permanently attached. The permanent crimped fittings are inferior to the aeroquip style threaded ones, but they're what's legal.

BTW I used to drive my eclipse with a 5-point, they are a bit of a PITA on the street because you can't lean forwards to look when you're trying to come out into a busy street or whatever.

Like always it comes down to local law. Look at it learn it and youll be fine.