Sad deal, more than likely could have been prevented... RIP
Desert season is here, be careful out there.
Desert season is here, be careful out there.
Johnson Valley deaths (wear your seat belts)
- Thread starter dla
- Start date
Note the times. That is about par for sitting around the camp fire, throwing back a few too many, deciding that you are now KOH ready and hauling ass across the lake bed or down the main road. Happens every year and every year the excuses are widely varied, but the end result varies little.
I never even start my jeep moving until everyone has there seat belt fastened, nor do I go out after drinking. Maybe it's because I just an old guy, or maybe I have lived long enough to see too many of these same stupid things. It is sad that lives are lost because a lack of judgement RIP
Tragic events all around. 
Speaking of seat belts, is there a decent aftermarket manually adjusted lap belt that can be retrofitted just for low speed offroad use?
It's been a long time since I've been in a TJ but I think the lockup uses a pendulum, which means if the vehicle is offcamber the seat belts will retract if you get out but you can't extend them again to put them back on.
Speaking of seat belts, is there a decent aftermarket manually adjusted lap belt that can be retrofitted just for low speed offroad use?
It's been a long time since I've been in a TJ but I think the lockup uses a pendulum, which means if the vehicle is offcamber the seat belts will retract if you get out but you can't extend them again to put them back on.
DustyRhodes03
TJ Enthusiast
Admittedly my biggest paranoia with my Jeep is the seat belt and seat set up for when it comes to kids. My little guy still uses just a booster seat so he's up a little higher and it feels like if we were ever to roll with the top off he might go flying out.
Tragic events all around.
Speaking of seat belts, is there a decent aftermarket manually adjusted lap belt that can be retrofitted just for low speed offroad use?
It's been a long time since I've been in a TJ but I think the lockup uses a pendulum, which means if the vehicle is offcamber the seat belts will retract if you get out but you can't extend them again to put them back on.
Go get a Simpson race rated lap belt and add that to the tj. If you have scca buddies or other race buddies, even a race shop in the area they will almost give away the expired belts which are fine for our application but cannot be used in racing ( tech inspection checks dates on belts). Expired doesn’t mean end of useful for us ( ballistic vests I have tested 20 years after expiration. Still stopped all they were supposed to)
alittleoff
TJ Addict
I hate it when people say “seatbelts are too uncomfortable”. That’s stupid because I hear coffins are pretty uncomfortable too, but I guess you’ll be dead so it doesn’t really matter.
Yep, getting thrown from a Jeep once was once too many for me!
That is exactly spot on. If alcohol doesn’t kill a lot of young males , testosterone does. We have had some real tragedies locally.., kids partying , cutting donuts in a field at 1 a.m or so...and running over some bystander or unbuckled passenger.
Toyota distribution lost a dispatcher in Georgia ....doing donuts and rolled a wrangler .
I hate to see anyone die like this . Death is hard enough.
The problem with expired vests is the second shot LOL
Joking aside, we were testing chinese carriers. American made vests do not fail after one shot.
I would agree except for the fact I crawler away from a over the side a cliff accident.
If I had a belt I would have been killed.
Ristow and I were the only ones who survived going off at that spot according to the USFS rangers.
The story is told in his book :
If I had a belt I would have been killed.
Ristow and I were the only ones who survived going off at that spot according to the USFS rangers.
The story is told in his book :
Perfect. Now that we know that you can walk away without wearing your seat belts and harnesses, I want everyone to go remove them from their vehicles.
Does the book advocate ignoring seatbelts?
If so, its no wonder that Amazon ranks it #6,482,722 in Books
If so, its no wonder that Amazon ranks it #6,482,722 in Books
there's one in every crowd.
Sure, you can find isolated examples of surviving because of NOT wearing a seatbelt (like the Jeep that recently rolled down Black Bear Pass in Colorado and tossed the occupant early enough in the roll that she "only" had critical injuries instead of ending up dead in the pile of rubble at the bottom), but anyone with even a vague awareness of the existence of a branch of mathematics called "statistics" will understand why advocating against seatbelt use is absurd.
For every person that was "Saved" by not wearing a seatbelt, I bet there are 100 more that would have survived if they used one.
My brother and I walked away from this. Both had seatbelts, I'm not sure where my head would have been with no belt. We landed upside down on a train track, that is the V in the roof.
My brother and I walked away from this. Both had seatbelts, I'm not sure where my head would have been with no belt. We landed upside down on a train track, that is the V in the roof.
I have tried ironing, they get stiff and uncomfortable. The best way is to use zep purple degreaser. It not only cleans but breaks down the material to a nice soft, almost bungee kinda feel.
My nephew and I owe our lives to seatbelts. I always wear one.
