questions about seat belts? please help

_sparkie_

hey everybody, i am working on a college project and would really appreciate any help or information that you can give me regarding seat belts.

basically i have to come up with a product that is given a second live or use, so instead of just throwing something away it is given a second chance to be useful. i have decided to try and use seat belts as my material but i have a few questions, any help would be a great help no matter what it is.

i need to know:
-what size car is the most popular in ireland?
-what are the most popular brands of cars in ireland?
-what happens to scrapped cars in ireland, are they just left to rot or are the parts, especially seat belts re-used in anyway?
-are the seat belts re-used from scrap cars at the moment?
-on average how many meteres of belt are in a car?

i though this would be the right place to ask as some of you here are really into your cars. thanks everyone!

Seatbelts are a very poor choice for your project.

-what size car is the most popular in ireland?
Focus, Astra size I suppose.


-what are the most popular brands of cars in ireland?
Ford, VW, Toyota and since they started selling them at cheap prices Renault.

-what happens to scrapped cars in ireland, are they just left to rot or are the parts, especially seat belts re-used in anyway?
They are crushed and recyled as metal scrap, some parts are salvaged, some yards leave the shells there for ages. Seatbelts are very rarely re used as they generally don't fail so there is f all demand for them

-are the seat belts re-used from scrap cars at the moment?
Wouldn't think so.

-on average how many meteres of belt are in a car?
10 at a guess.

I would strongly recommend you pick something other than seatbelts. What are you studying at college out of interest ?

x in the city

yeah, seat belts are not meant to or never will be recycled

safety critical device !

bonzodog2

You could reasonably recycle seat belts for some non-safety related use, e.g. furniture, would be good for cushion support. Whether it could be economically viable is an entirely different question !

Satts

I've always wondered if the black straps that undertakers use to lower the coffin in to the ground are old seat belt straps, anybody know ?

Could they be used in light haulage for strapping cargo to the floor of a van or truck ?

Satts

Satts wrote: »

I've always wondered if the black straps that undertakers use to lower the coffin in to the ground are old seat belt straps, anybody know ?

I reckon not

dingding

You can not reuse seatbelts as the fabric stretches in an accident reducing strain on the occupant.

Once it has stretched it can not be stretched again,

Iwannahurl

Google 'recycling car seatbelts' and you will see that the idea has been considered many times before.

Someone even wove a car out of the stuff, though it was more art than automobile.

dohertykkwdpd

Id say seat belts are shorter than 10 meters long, as little as 5 meters long or less.

Everything can be reused, it’s whether is economical viable is the question. A lot of money is made from things that we would think are just rubbish.

Things seatbelts can be reused in;
- The silver key thing at the end of the seat belt is made of metal and could be melted down the reused.
- The push button on the lock of the belt (used to release the seatbelt) could be reused in suitcases or something with a removable lid.
- The seatbelt itself is made of fabric and can be recycled like clothes can be. It could also be used on child seats.
- The main loc mechanism (attached to the cars frame) could be reused in a number of industrial safety equipment, although the health and safety regulations may have a problem wit this.

dohertykkwdpd

dohertykkwdpd wrote: »

Id say seat belts are shorter than 10 meters long, as little as 5 meters long or less.

Most cars have 5 full size seat belts
They're defo over a metre long, anchor point to the pivot bit is a metre for the fronts alone

_sparkie_

RoverJames wrote: »

Seatbelts are a very poor choice for your project.

I would strongly recommend you pick something other than seatbelts. What are you studying at college out of interest ?

it seems like i was not clear with what i am planning to do and that has lead to some confusion. i dont plan on reusing the belts for any kind of safety system so they can be stretched/ripped/covered in oil, as somebody else in the thread mentioned i am going to be using them to make things by sewing the belts together to make bags,wallets,phone/laptop cases that sort of thing. as for it being economical, that isnt the most important thing in the world as it is more of a theoretical design project. there is a chance that the winner could be put into production but that is a very slight chance, they more want to promote 'green responsible design' to the next generation of designers coming trough at the moment.i am studying product design in DIT.

thank you all so much for the response so far, especially over the christmas weekend. if anybody has any more they would like to contribute please do.

Work away in that case, ring a few scrap yards and ask them would they allow you cut out seatbelts

_sparkie_

already done that! i have a few samples and i think i have all the questiones answered that i needed answers to so i will let you know how it goes.