"Patrick" <ptri.c.k.@statrerv.corn> wrote in message
news:5acbhiF2nvc8kU1@mid.individual.net...
>I have a 1990 Civic 4-door 5-speed with those annoying automatic shoulder
> harnesses which don't seem to be providing the restraint that the lap
> belts
> and rear-seat shoulder harnesses provide. If I tug on them quickly they
> don't lock in position, unlike the others.
>
> The Honda dealer I consulted states that they're a differently-designed
> mechanism from the lap and rear-seat shoulder harnesses and will work
> properly in the event of an impact, but I don't believe it and am feeling
> quite unsafe.
>
> I've _never_ encounter such shoulder-harness behaviour on any other auto
> or
> aircraft and feel that the dealer is wrong. Can anyone corroborate the
> dealer's statement please, or suggest some sort of test to show that the
> front shoulder harnesses will work properly?
>
>

I've seen it in quite a few cars. The shoulder harness in those cars has an
inertia device in the pillar that is supposed to lock up when the car
decelerates sharply. You can try very hard braking, but I don't think that's
a reliable test either.

Mike