Seatbelt Ignition Interlocks

New GM system won't let car drive until front occupants buckle up

Quote :

General Motors is planning to launch a new belt assurance system, which does not allow the vehicle to shift out of park until the driver and front passenger are buckled in, on select vehicles later this year, the company said Monday.

GM spokeswoman Jennifer Ecclestone said the new belt assurance system will be offered as an optional feature in select 2015 models, including the GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Cruze, Colorado and Silverado. GM does not plan to charge extra for this feature.

Ecclestone said the company would like buyers who opt for the belt assurance system to provide feedback to help improve the technology before it becomes standard.

Last year, ignition interlocks resurfaced for the first time since the early 1970s. These interlocks require seat belts to be fastened before a vehicle can start. Car companies asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to let them use ignition interlocks instead of crash tests for people who don’t wear seat belts. NHSTA denied this request in 2013, but said it would study interlocks through 2015 to assess whether they are effective in saving lives.

GM’s new belt assurance system does not use an interlock ignition, Ecclestone said. The new system taps into the sensing and diagnostic module used to detect passenger weights and turn airbags on and off. To apply it to seat belts, the SDM detects front seat passengers, and communicates with the brakes and transmission to prevent the driver from shifting the vehicle into gear before both front passengers are buckled up.

The company’s OnStar system is included in its efforts to encourage more people to use their seat belts. Drivers who press the OnStar button for non-emergency requests will be reminded to “stay buckled up” during NHSTA’s Click it or Ticket campaign, which runs through June 1.

“It is essential for the safety of our customers’ and all drivers’ safety to develop the habit of buckling up each and every time they get into their vehicles,” Jeff Boyer, vice president of GM global vehicle safety said in the statement Monday.

Automotive News

So people will just buckle the belts behind them...

1974 all over again. A friend of mine has a '74 Omega that the belt interlocks still work on.

turbobill wrote:

1974 all over again. A friend of mine has a '74 Omega that the belt interlocks still work on.

Reminds me of helping a lady with a new '74 Triumph TR-6 sports car. She'd come out of the grocery store, placed the bags on the passenger seat and the car wouldn't start- deader than a doornail. I suggested she buckle in her groceries .... it started right up.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The nanny state never dies ...

There were some cars that would still start if the belt wasn't fastened but they had a buzzer that would not shut off if there was any kind of weight in the passenger seat and the belt wasn't buckled. A friend of mine had that on one of his cars for a while. I say he had it for a while because it was so annoying that after about a week of owning the car he found the wires for it and cut them. That took care of it.