Do Motorhomes have seatbelts?

[cindyg]

Hi all, just new here, not RVers yet but planning to full time in about a year.  Just beginning to look at what's available and oh my goodness, how do you ever make up your mind what to get?  Anyway, this question occurred to me last night, ARE there seatbelts in a motorhome?  Where for example would you hook up a child safety seat?  Are you able/allowed to move around in one while on the road (providing you are not the driver of course,  
I would love to hear from lots of you experienced RVers about why you made the choice you did and what you might change if you had a chance. 

 

[Wendy]

We have a Class A. It has seatbelts for the driver and passenger in front, a seatbelt for the barrel chair, and seatbelts for anyone riding in the forward-facing dinette. If seatbelts are important, look for them when you're shopping and ask if you don't see them. The ones in our dinette are stuffed down in the storage area because we don't use them so seatbelts may not be readily visible in some places.


Wendy

 

[docj]

My wife and

Are you able/allowed to move around in one while on the road (providing you are not the driver of course,  

Although moving about in the MH while in motion is something we try to avoid, my DW does get up to use the bathroom or to grab a snack.  She tries to do it primarily while we are traveling at relatively constant speed, usually on an interstate.  However, emergencies do occur and sometime. she gets up under less favorable conditions.  I always make sure to I warn her if I need to slow down or stop.  One time she got caught unawares and took a bit of a tumble.

 

[Wi1dBill]

Believe it is a Federal law that requires a seat belt for every person in the vehicle built after a certion year(Mid 70's). As for getting up and moving around in a moving vehicle, not sure in other states, but in Ohio you can be pulled over and the  driver or the passenger ticketed for not wearing a seat belt.
Plus it is not really a very good idea since the driver may have to make a sudden change in direction, or a sudden stop.

 

[Just Lou]

In addition to those that Wendy mentioned, ours has seat belts in the side facing couch.  We try to always have a seat belt fastened when seated, but do move around while underway as safely as possible.

 

[mnmnutswer]

Our class A has seating with belts in the back for six. With driver and passenger that's eight total.

 

[richard1171]

when we took our 10 mth old grand baby with us I took the dinette table down and put her car seat in the seat and buckled her in, and to the seat she so loved it she could see out the windshield and could look out the dinette window it was her first trip in it>

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Believe it is a Federal law that requires a seat belt for every person in the vehicle built after a certion year(Mid 70's).

That law applies only to passenger cars and light trucks. In general, federal law requires seat belts only for front seat passengers in medium trucks and motorhomes, but RVIA standards specify more. The RVIA standards have been modified several times over the years, so motorhomes can vary quite a bit in belt availability.

 

[SoEzzy]

We had 6 on our RV when we bought it, the driver and passenger seats, the round chair and 3 on the couch.

We bought and fitted belts to the dinette too, because the family is 8 and there are sometimes one or two guests, so we fitted a belt to every seat.

 

[99WinAdventurer37G]

I have belts on the couch, but haven't looked for any in the dinette.  In trucks they put belts on the beds that are like a net of belts that go over you when you lay down.  They put those in there for team drivers, as one is supposed to be sleeping while the other is driving.  But in the MH the bed does not have any belts at all.  And I've used the MH to take friends on a long trip.  We go shooting in Pahump, NV at FrontSight.  One drives, one sleeps, the rest just hang out.  Only the front seat passengers belt in, but we rotate driving/sleeping, which I would think is the best place for a belt.  But it doesn't seem like many use their MH's like this. 

 

[odie1234]

Believe it is a Federal law that requires a seat belt for every person in the vehicle built after a certion year(Mid 70's). As for getting up and moving around in a moving vehicle, not sure in other states, but in Ohio you can be pulled over and the  driver or the passenger ticketed for not wearing a seat belt.
Plus it is not really a very good idea since the driver may have to make a sudden change in direction, or a sudden stop.

That law applies only to passenger cars and light trucks. In general, federal law requires seat belts only for front seat passengers in medium trucks and motorhomes, but RVIA standards specify more. The RVIA standards have been modified several times over the years, so motorhomes can vary quite a bit in belt availability.

This chart is dated, so some of the regs may not be completely up to date, but does a good job of showing variances in state seat belt regulations for rvs. http://www.rvhelpdesk.com/seatbelt-laws.html

 

[buckstand]

Hey cool....a question that I can answer, lol Usually I'm asking a question.

When you're looking at a MH look under and or between cushions cause usually there are seat belts. They just don't get used and do get pushed out of sight. Some will have more than others, you just have to look around. My wife does get up on occasion and it does make me a little nervous, hoping I don't have to do anything sudden and find her rolling down the isle so to speak.  :
As far as which one to buy... just take your time and look at all you can. Every trip will be a learning experience and asking questions on MH boards like this one will be invaluable.

as a hint: the guy selling the MH will not all the time be truthful 

I use to let my wife go inside a MH and if she stayed in it for over two minutes I would look.....if she came out before the two minute mark, we would go to the next one  ;D
Go ahead and figure new tires, all fluids and filters to change and some if not all new batteries as a starting cost. You will change the TV's to HD... trust me  ;D 
Good luck!!!

 

[ArdraF]

Yes, motorhomes do have seatbelts.  Ours has one for the driver, one for the passenger, and either two or three on the sofa.  I don't remember the sofa number because they're down behind it and are seldom used.  :  Usually a built-in dinette has seatbelts which you may need to find under the seats.  If a chair exists but doesn't have seat belts, there be a sign next to it on the window that says something like "This seat not for use while in motion" meaning it isn't considered safe because it doesn't have a seatbelt.

ArdraF

 

[Wyotraveler]

I like seat belts and always use them but in a MH seat belts or not the whole box basically falls apart in a serious accident.  There isn't much up in front of you in a serious accident. If I was transporting a child I would want them in the proper seat belt further back in the coach like strapped in at the side sofa etc. There was a pretty serious accident on a Wyoming two lane highway about a year ago between Meteetsie and Thermopolis. The driver lived but the small child, although  in the passenger seat properly strapped into a child car seat died. Not to scare you but safer place for children seems a little further back in the coach.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

In my opinion seat belts in the rear areas, e.g. sofa, dinette, lounge chairs, etc., are largely a waste. If you aren't facing forward or back, the belt isn't going to do much to help - your body gets bent sideways in a collision. And smacking into a dinette table isn't much different than hitting the dashboard, so the forward-facing side of the dinette is a danger seat in any case.

Don't get me wrong.  I am confirmed seat belt advocate and have been for 40 years, but a seat belt (or a child seat) needs a strong and well-anchored seat to be effective and few motorhome seating positions outside the cab area are robust enough or positioned correctly  to be safe.

 

[Wyotraveler]

The problem in MHs is there is nothing in front to protect you in an accident. There basically are not any crash tests compiled. The MH box falls apart. Does't matter if the seat is anchored. Anchored to what?  More plywood?  In the WY accident a compact vehicle, yes a compact vehicle veered across the center line on a two lane hwy. Destroyed the front of the MH. Doesn't take much to go through that flimsy material. If I had kids they would not ride in front. MH is heavier than a car. You are much safer further back in the MH. The big problem is the small car cutting through the front of the MH. Once the entry into the MH stops the shock of the stopping will be minor compared to how the weight of the MH pushes the small vehicle. The passengers in the small vehicle suffer more from the weight of the MH. You don't need a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Having been in a motorhome in a major highway accident, I was actually surprised how well it held up. The cab area in most Class A's is ABOVE any car or pick-up truck you hit, so even major damage was not life threatening to my wife and I.  Hitting an bridge abutment would have been a different story, but hitting a car was surprisingly mild. The fact that we outweighed the car and the pick-up we hit by 9x and 4x respectively probably had a lot to do with it.

A lot of cabinetry broke, though, and stuff slid around or got tossed out of cabinets.

 

[Jeff]

Some of the worst injures seem to come from sudden application if brakes that fling people around.