Pinzgauers are not inherently safe vehicles!
I
was going to jump all over this statement.
We spent a LONG time fighting WisDOT's contention that Pinzgauers were not safe enough to operate on-road. (Many of you will recall that we were tossed off the road here for a year.) FWIW, we ultimately won. Our contention was that if a vehicle was built to meet safety standards of it's day, and still in good repair, then it still deserved to be able to be licensed. (Remember, people die in brand-new cars every day.) Other factors made a larger difference to the overall "safety" of a vehicle, such as driver's ability, conditions, other vehicles, etc.
Then I read this, and figured we were basically in agreement:
To be as safe as possible in a Pinzgauer on the road (and off road) drive within your abilities and be on the lookout for others who are not driving safely. Remember, as the driver you have the safety of your passengers in your hands.
I'd add that Pinzgauers,
just like most vehicles from that same era( and
especially ex-military ones), are inherently
less safe vehicles than current-spec ones, but still meet all applicable equipment requirements. They
are considered "Motor Vehicles" by U.S.DOT-NHTSA. But they were not originally designed to drive the U.S. highway system at it's current speeds, even
if they are capable of reaching it's highest speed limits. As Andre said:
Be Responsible Owners.
Sorry if I'm touchy about this subject. I've spent thousands of hours dealing with the problems that a misperception of our trucks caused. They are safe enough to deserve to be on the streets.
State DMV's monitor forums and the internet, so be judicious in what gets posted online. No sense stirring a turd that don't need to be stirred.
EDIT:
Geez, guys. I'm very sorry. I certainly didn't mean to get things all riled up. I'd have voted to leave the posts in place, FWIW. My only concern was the one sentence that could be taken poorly,
if taken out of context. Safety concerns are things that we all (should) care about, and some people could benefit from the discussion. The question of Etrac mounting height was asked, and deserves to be answered.
If you want to discuss how "safe" a Pinz is overall, ask an insurance agent. For sure, new cars with air-bags, ABS, collision avoidance, etc. are
designed to be safer than any 40-year old truck was. But insurance rates for old cars are still generally lower than for current ones. Why? Because most of us try harder to stay safe, and don't drive as far or often.
Pinzgauer safety equipment compares favorably to that of other cars
of that year of manufacture. If you really want to know how it's
supposed to be done
currently, U.S. seat belt requirements can be found be searching for NHTSA Standard 209 and NHTSA Standard 210, Seat Belt Assemblies and Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages, respectively. However, since your truck is older than 25 years, it is exempted from those requirements, even if they're still good advice to follow when possible. Your state's laws may have specific requirements, and they need to be met. (For example, in Wisconsin, each passenger must wear a seat belt.)
The Etrac system (while perhaps not meeting
current requirements, and maybe not
absolutely ideal), seems to have worked well for many. It's not a matter of convenience, it's a matter of a good compromise between feasible and ideal. It's way better than having no seat belts. A search should provide lots of pictures and details. Jim's version made it stronger, I believe.
IMHO, unless you're only providing nooses for neck restraints, any seat belt/s you add are probably making a safety improvement, and that's a good thing.