Seat belt

A 3 year old should be in an approved car seat strapped in by an approved DOT belt.

Lonnie

and...the wife should be in the SC, not on the back seat..heaviest load in the SC. if its not possible, get a wider SC..lots of 1 1/2 and double wides out there.

Beware there are a few states that would not allow a 3 year old child to ride in a side car.

I would suggest researching the area you wish to ride so you are not surprised.

Bruce

The wife has no interest in riding in the SC or on the MC. That is why my kid is on his own in the SC. I believe the transition point between a car seat and a booster seat is 4 years old and 40 pounds in my state so he will be belted in in a car seat in the SC. Sounds safe as long as the fender washers hold everything to the fiberglass tub in the event of a rapid deceleration or inversion. Thanks for the input.

here in WI the age is over under 8 years..and under 80 pounds or 4'9" tall requirements, before losing the booster seats.
Less than 1 year old, or less than 20 lbs. must be in a rear-facing child seat in the back seat (if so equipped)
Age 1 to age 4, or less than 40 lbs. must be in a forward-facing child seat in the back seat (if so equipped)
Age 4 to age 8, between 40-80 lbs., and no more than 4 ft. 9 ins. must be in a booster seat .
.beware where you travel.
the belts are a great idea, but try and attach them to the frame..not the SC 'glass.

ive wondered the same thing.

hd sidecars are wood and metal reinforced hand laid glass. at the foot boards, the dash, the windshield, the seat mounts, and the two frame mounts the body is very thick and reinforced. everywhere else seems to be about 1/4" thick. if you feel around inside on the carpet you can find the heavy sections.

the seat bolts to 4 spots on the floor of the tub that are about 1" thick - then about 10" behind the seat are two bolts that go to the steel cross frame that holds the springs.

the problem i see is that if the belts go round to the frame they will be too high, if they are bolted to the seat bolts there is no/little metal there. what i envision as "proper" would be some sort of cross strap under the seat that is through bolted with the seat bolts and then a pair of straps that go back to the spring hanger bolts...

but its a really good question if its a good idea or not - im open for ideas. i really dont want my passenger to get tossed out, but if we flip the thing being in it is going to really suck...

any ideas?

to

Tim wrote:
>> snip....but its a really good question if its a good idea or not - im open for ideas. i really dont want my passenger to get tossed out, but if we flip the thing being in it is going to really suck...
any ideas?<>>the belts are a great idea, but try and attach them to the frame..not the SC 'glass.<<<
Bob, Due to the Harley sidecars having a sprung body this is not possible. Well maybe possible but the passenger would not like it much....lol.
Often though that maybe Harley;s sprung body may be safer in some ways in a small crash situation. Who knows?

Originally written by claude #3563 on 4/14/2007 7:17 AM

Tim wrote:
>> snip....but its a really good question if its a good idea or not - im open for ideas. i really dont want my passenger to get tossed out, but if we flip the thing being in it is going to really suck...
any ideas?<>>the belts are a great idea, but try and attach them to the frame..not the SC 'glass.<<<
Bob, Due to the Harley sidecars having a sprung body this is not possible. Well maybe possible but the passenger would not like it much....lol.
Often though that maybe Harley;s sprung body may be safer in some ways in a small crash situation. Who knows?

let me modify my statement a little, as Claude mentioned other safety factors..
Belts would be great a slower speeds..under 40 ....preventing the passenger from hitting the WS or dash in a front end crash.after that,,who knows? like claude mentioned, you would need a good roll bar over head attahed properly to the frame, to protect the passenger in a roll over, otherwise the passenger can be crushed beneath the sidecar body..my old Terraplane had a great roll bar.
I guess no belts at higher speed is safer. [with no roll bar] but have the passenger wear protective clothing to be safe. but thats very hard to enforce with sidecar passengers..AKA my wife...she gets VERY comfy in there!! at LEAST wear a good helmet.

I saw a couple from Canada on tour with two toddlers in a Harley sidecar a few years back. It looked like they built a roll cage in the sidecar with the seats and restraints attached to the cage, rather than to the sidecar chassis. I am no engineer and couldn't say if it was safer than the other alternatives which have been offered, but it LOOKED like a good idea...

Restraining a child or an animal so they can't climb out of a moving vehicle is certainly a good start, if you decide that taking a being who can not be relied upon to behave responsibly and safely is a smart idea in the first place. I do believe that good protective riding gear(boots gloves riding jacket and riding pants and a good fitting helmet) are your primary means of crash protection for driver and passenger. A restraint system will need to be very well thought out to actually provide protection in a crash.

Vernon wrote:
>>I saw a couple from Canada on tour with two toddlers in a Harley sidecar a few years back. It looked like they built a roll cage in the sidecar with the seats and restraints attached to the cage, rather than to the sidecar chassis. I am no engineer and couldn't say if it was safer than the other alternatives which have been offered, but it LOOKED like a good idea...<<<

After all the dust settles and the discussions and done I really think this is th ebest compromise over all. A 'breakaway saftey pod' of sorts makes a lot of sense in a sidecar. A little different scenario but a few years back the F1 boat racers went to an enclosed pod for the driver. It detaches on impact and has saved a lot of misery for many.

With what I have read and you are set on a seat belt, then laminating and fiber glassing a steel plate to the bottom of the sidecar body, may be something to consider. This will give your seat belt hold down bolts the needed strength necessary, so they will not pull through the fiber glass body. You might consider bolting some sort of roll bar to the plate as well, to protect the young rider, in the event of a roll over. I don't know if they make motorcycle helmets small enough, but I would seriously consider that as well, safety chair or not.

Thanks to everyone for all the well thought out advice. So far I have a generic seatbelt which I will mount to the two rear most seat mounting bolts or (if I can figure out a way to do it) to the rear spring mounts which are way further back towards the rear of the SC. The SC axle and tunnel complicates this somewhat. Max already has his DOT helmet, eye protection, riding jacket and pants. I have not found any good riding gloves for him yet. I believe that his car seat will create a sort of "safety pod" affording some roll bar type protection for his upper body. The problem with the car seat is that it raises him up out of the SC more than just sitting on the seat does. The real test will be when his momma inspects the final setup and decides if he is allowed to leave the driveway riding in the SC.

If you are using a car seat, consider removing the original sidecar seat to allow the car seat to sit lower.

Good idea. After looking at the side car again it was possible to run long seats belts back to the rear spring mounts past the axle tunnel without any problems. The boys (age 14 and 3) have ridden in it a few times and it seems pretty secure for both of them.