Short driver needs seat belt advice

General Discussion
1

I am a 4’9" driver (yes, that’s as tall as I’m gonna get). I struggle with seat belts, even the adjustable belts in my Civic. I have seen seat belt ‘adjustors’ for sale online, but question their effectiveness and safety. Though, driving with a seat belt across my neck probably isn’t terribly safe either. Does clipping the belt together, especially clipping the bottom of the shoulder belt to the waist belt, reduce the effectiveness of the seat belt? Any other ideas out there? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

2

My short driver uses a pillow to sit on. The kind of pillow you see on dining room chairs.
It the manner of child booster seats, this helps change the geometry of that belt.

also-
I’ve given out many H buckles to people who are satisfied with them.

you choice.

3

Does your Civic have seat mounted side airbags? If so make sure that whatever solution you choose does not interfere with deployment. Your owners manual should have some input on this.

4

You can use a clip(h clip) to lower the shoulder part of the belt. Normally you still want to put the belt on your shoulder. The clip goes on the bottom portion and attaches to the shoulder part kinda midway around your belly button. Slide this around until your shoulder and not your neck is the good spot. This does interfere with the auto retract and will be annoying. The side air bags are not an issue. The seat belt is all about keeping you away from the steering wheel. It has no effect on side impacts. The steering wheel has the mega air bag that pushes your head away. The shoulder harness slows your head down by putting the stress on your neck. It does reduce brain injury but neck injury is the cost of not being vegetative.

5

I don’t know about Honda, but Toyota offers free seatbelt extension to those who ask. I got some.
ask your dealer if they offer them too.

6

Does your car have a height adjustment on the door pillar where the belt is attached? My 2005 Accord does. You didn’t say whether you adjusted the shoulder strap height, and I thought I’d mention it.

If you nee a lower shoulder belt, here’s an item:

http://wescoperformance.stores.yahoo.net/conversion-van-seat-belt.html

Do a web search for “shoulder belt height adjustment” to see more.