The retractable part would operate to tighten the belt once it sensed the correct load faster than any swivelling...

When they first came out, there was concern over how they tighten and then lock...combined seat belt cutters and window smashers were available and a lot of people bought and mounted them where they could be reached in the event.

Today, nobody seems to worry about being trapped after an "event", except of course, the traffic jams after a large event

Got a bit of a question on the 'universal' front seatbelts available - like these:

http://minisport.com.au/mini-front-iner ... 00mm-stalk

Here's a couple of pics with them installed (I think):

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=81085&p=903282&hilit=retractable+front#p903282

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37332&hilit=retracting+front

My question is, in the event of an....event......wouldn't the sudden load make that horizontal mounting bar swivel up, therefore loosening the belt? Seems to only be attached via the single big bolt? Wouldn't think you could crank that bolt tight enough to stop it swivelling under sudden load...but maybe it does.

Y'lost me there slightly - inertia reel belts don't 'tighten' the belt, they simply stop paying out more belt when it's moving too quick.

Mick - seatbelt pre-tensioners hurt like all hell too, but there's no recollection of thinking "this seatbelt is hard to undo"

The fitment in my car was passed by an Engineer.

In an accident you have to imagine your entire body including your hips legs lower body and shoulders will continue directly forward in unison. So the direction of the bar you are concerned about will be pulled in approx the direction I have it in my photo - forward.

The inertia reels actually liock much faster than people think. Although they do lock if you tug them suddenly, in an accident the reel itself locks up as soon as it senses a change in inertia. In other words its not the "tug" action that necessarily locks it.

If memory serves I remember my father (he was a seatbelt/hardware Engineer at BMC) explaining that the reels could have been designed to not lock when tugged and still work normally in an accident but the tug/lock feature was a way of confirming that they lock and also gave people some confidence in these belts esp when they first came in the market.

Personally I would stick with the ones marked as certified for NZ. (Klippan?)

Read thru the other posts you found, the only minor issue is that I found the door pocket can tend to "tug" and lock the belt when the door is closed, so if you hop in and close the door when you go to put on the belt you find it has locked. but I found this was only an issue when they were brand new and didn't happen every time.

The fitment in my car was passed by an Engineer.

In an accident you have to imagine your entire body including your hips legs lower body and shoulders will continue directly forward in unison. So the direction of the bar you are concerned about will be pulled in approx the direction I have it in my photo - forward.

The inertia reels actually liock much faster than people think. Although they do lock if you tug them suddenly, in an accident the reel itself locks up as soon as it senses a change in inertia. In other words its not the "tug" action that necessarily locks it.

If memory serves I remember my father (he was a seatbelt/hardware Engineer at BMC) explaining that the reels could have been designed to not lock when tugged and still work normally in an accident but the tug/lock feature was a way of confirming that they lock and also gave people some confidence in these belts esp when they first came in the market.