We recently developed an RV Driving Safety Program for RVSEF (Recreation Vehicle Safety & Education Foundation) and found several "interesting" and "confusing" issues related to seat belts, road use laws, and motorhomes. This program was developed with assistance from NHTSA, The National Safety Council, The DOT, Iowa Highway Patrol, and several National organizations.
The first thing to understand is that a motorhome, anything over 10,000# and under 26,000# is not recognized in road use laws! When we researched speed limits, driving with propane, and other regulations, we were told the laws were written for cars, trucks, and commercial vehicles over 26,000#. A motorhome is never quantified and is left to the interpretation of the state and officers within that state.
Second, RVIA (Recreation Vehicle Industry Association) is one of the few governing bodies that regulates motorhomes. According to their requirements, motorhomes must have seat belt capacity for the listed sleeping capacity. Some manufacturers list their sleeping capacity as 2, therefore only driver and passenger belts are installed. This reduces the liability of occupants getting injured and suing. ONLY REDUCES! It's amazing what happens in lawsuits.
Seat Belt Laws...Every state has their own useage laws, and every law enforcement officer has his/her interpretation of that law! Many states only require belts in the front seat, however, WI requires all passengers to be belted. As I stated before, motorhomes are not specifically listed and therefore fall under interpretation. I was deposed in 2 multi-million dollar lawsuits were the driver was not wearing a seatbelt and the lawyers made this VERY clear! Which brings me to my next point...WEAR YOUR SEATBELT! The driver was not wearing his seatbelt and was driving on an interstate in CA with his grand daughter sitting either on his lap or on the doghouse. A truck sideswiped him and he over-corrected, hit the center pilons, and turned over on the driver's side throwing him out the door. He was killed, the grand daughter lost a leg, and the others in the vehicle were injured but survived. I learned an awful lot about seatbelts during these trials. The estate sued the motorhome manufacturer because they advertised the unit was built so strong you didn't need belts. It had a solid steel front cage, perimeter steel, and unibody construction. They won $4 million because all the brochure photography did not show seatbelts. They were all tucked under the cushions to look pretty!
It's your decision, however, here is what I learned about seatbelts. According to the National Safety Council, seatbelts reduce fatal injury for passengers in a car by 45%. There are three crashes that take place in a collision
1. Vehicle impact - usually takes only 1/10th of a second
2. Human impact - occupant hitting the steering wheel or dash
3. Internal impact - organs moving forward and hitting other organs or skeleton
Various parts of the body can absorb different amounts of energy without injury. That is why seatbelts are designed to be positioned over the strongest parts.
Child restraints are another issue in a motorhome. To be properly secure, a childseat must be installed in a "fixed" forward facing seat. Most motorhomes do not have a place for them, unless they have a booth dinette.
Seatbelts also keep you in the seat as stated in an earlier post. In your car, you are more likely to be "cocooned" in a bucket seat with armrests, counsels, etc. In a MH you are often on top of the pedestal seat and can be thrown off easily.
In a MH, the initial impact doesn't cause the greatest injury, it's secondary, you hitting something, or something hitting you. Remember, anything not secure in the unit becomes a missle, so take down the picture of kids, the porcelin collectibles, and even put away the tissue box. The Iowa Highway Patrol has a documented case of a woman being knocked unconsious during an accident by the tissue box flying from the back window and the corner hitting her head at just the right/or wrong angle.