Dangerous Seatbelts

By Bill Gephardt / KUTV 2 News

Nov 26, 2002

Would your seatbelts release before or during an accident? A nationwide lawsuit has been filed demanding a recall on some 14-million vehicles. Bill Gephardt has the story.

This is a Chrysler, and we're talking about the seat belts in some 14-million Chryslers manufactured since 1993. The seatbelts that look like this, hit it with your elbow and it pops off. Could this happen in a crash?

In Europe, this standard for testing seat belts is an inch and a half ball. If you can open a seat belt using it, the buckle is considered unsafe.

"Alright there you go."

Sam Eubanks is very concerned about his family and driving his 1995 Plymouth Voyager ever since he heard about a nationwide class action suit that started in Texas.

"What the problem is, is that these seatbelt connectors have a problem that they easily unfasten if they are barely pushed."

Look, when Sam tries the European standard test with the inch and a half ball, it pops open.

Sam is not alone. This is 14 year old Kristin Smith. Two years ago on a family trip from Arizona to California, she was thrown from the car and died in an accident when her seat belt came loose. Then last December, 37 yr old Sung Ho Park also from Arizona, was in what looks like a minor accident. But he was thrown from his vehicle into this canal and drowned, again when the seat belt came loose.

Scottsdale, Arizona Attorney, Larry Coben is suing on behalf of both families. Although police reports note that Park and Kristin Smith were not belted, Coben says forensic evidence, like bruising, shows that they were. He claims their seatbelts unlatched.

"The buckle clearly is designed unfortunately so that one could bump it, bump the red tab that comes up above the buckle itself and release it."

The buckles in question are the Gen 3 Safety Belts, and they're found in as many as 14-million Chrysler vehicles since 1993. Lawsuits across the country allege the release buttons make them prone to unlatching during accidents. The problem is the government's not doing anything about it because the government doesn't have a standard to deal with it.

So I tested several cars. You too can do this test on your car with a ball about an inch and a half in diameter. You can also go to a national web site called "unsafebelts.com" it lists all the vehicles involved and the details of the national class action suit.

Sam Eubanks filed his complaint with them.

"I think that all of these seatbelt connectors need to be replaced with their newer model."

Four people have died so far and many more have been injured. This national class action suit to recall these Gen 3 belts was approved over the summer in Texas. So far, Chrysler has refused to recall these seatbelts.`