Posted by Keith in Washington on Friday, August 29, 2003 at 1:31PM :
In Reply to: Friggin' Cops posted by Hal on Friday, August 29, 2003 at 1:08PM :
It will vary by state. In washington they are tough on seat belts which in itself stops the riding in the back of a pickup unless there is a stationary seat with Seat belts (Suburu Brat of years past). Vehicles built prior to seatbelt laws do not need to have seat belts and they can not touch you as long as you are in a designated seat. So that stops riding in the back of a pickup also. The Trucks with troop seats is an interesting case. They are designated seating areas by the manufacturer so it could possibly sneak past in my state. However, I personnaly demand that anyone in a vehicle that I am driving have a seat belt on. I would rig a seat belt into the troop seats if I were traveling on public roads and probably for offroad use also. That is my own safety demand. And yes I have put shoulder belts in my WC 53 and 52 ff PW. I do not care about keeping it original over safety. That is why I have disk brakes and dual master cylinder setups for both of my trucks.
I have been pulled over in my ff PW by a cop who tried to charge me with what ever he could think of. He kept me for 45 minutes but I keep a copy of the state laws concerning "Classic" (Legal designation of how I licence my trucks) vehicles in the glove box and instruct officers that I am perfectly legal. I really helps as you are putting the regs in their hands to read.