Legality of Roll bar on the street with no interior

[BKL_9000]

Hey guys,

I am thinking of stripping out the interior rear of the seats to weld in a roll bar next month to prep the car for solo and just lapping events. However, I am a little worried about the legality of this project.

I have been told that it is legal as long as I have my my car in "street working order" (turn signal working, hand brake, brake lights, etc). And that there are no rules saying that a rollbar with no interior is illegal... I have even heard that a full cage is legal on the street as long as everything necessary for street running is in place.

Does any of you guys know anything about this? Any input is deeply appreciated

thx

Bill

[J.C.]

Has to be legal somehow since there are street legal dealer purchased 2007 cars that come with them.

[Chuck91GT]

Hey guys,

I am thinking of stripping out the interior rear of the seats to weld in a roll bar next month to prep the car for solo and just lapping events. However, I am a little worried about the legality of this project.

I have been told that it is legal as long as I have my my car in "street working order" (turn signal working, hand brake, brake lights, etc). And that there are no rules saying that a rollbar with no interior is illegal... I have even heard that a full cage is legal on the street as long as everything necessary for street running is in place.

Does any of you guys know anything about this? Any input is deeply appreciated

thx

Bill

Check with your insurance company. By adding a roll bar or a cage you might be making your insurance null and void.

[Guillermo]

You may want to ask some other insurance companies instead of your own ;)
Just asking questions like this will bring up red flags and they likely won't want to renew your policy :eek:

[SHIFT_Disturber]

Hey guys,

I am thinking of stripping out the interior rear of the seats to weld in a roll bar next month to prep the car for solo and just lapping events. However, I am a little worried about the legality of this project.

I have been told that it is legal as long as I have my my car in "street working order" (turn signal working, hand brake, brake lights, etc). And that there are no rules saying that a rollbar with no interior is illegal... I have even heard that a full cage is legal on the street as long as everything necessary for street running is in place.

Does any of you guys know anything about this? Any input is deeply appreciated

thx

Bill

There are rally car owners who have installed full cages on their cars and driven them on the street. I dont believe there is a law in the DOT covering cages that would make them illegal. People i know have been pulled over in their rally cars on the street, cop just checked to see if their turn signals were working, lights worked, and sent him on his way. A rollbar or even half cage is definitly legal. The only thing i would be concerned about driving on a full cage on the street is that you won't have a helmet on and those metal bars will bash you noggin' good, even with padding, should you get into an accident.

Stripping your interior is legal as well as long as you don't remove the stock 3 point belts on whatever seats your leaving in. The law doesn't make you have a radio, airconditioning, carpet, sound deadening, GPS etc.

My 2 cents.

Cheers

[BKL_9000]

Sounds good guys. I checked with my insurance on this already, it was just the law aspect I was worried about.

I will be doing a half cage only, and I will be using my stock seat belts with my racing seat. The harness goes on only at the track.

Thanks guys for your input, deeply appreciated :)

Bill

[Chuck91GT]

Sounds good guys. I checked with my insurance on this already, it was just the law aspect I was worried about.

I will be doing a half cage only, and I will be using my stock seat belts with my racing seat. The harness goes on only at the track.

Thanks guys for your input, deeply appreciated :)

Bill

Just out of curiousity what did your insurance company actually say? My insurance company turned down my insurance because of this "change" to my car. According to the Insurance Bureau changes of this sort make your vehicle uninsurable. I will see if I can find the exact quote. I have it somewhere but not on my computer.

[BKL_9000]

My insurance called again and said they are still checking on this.. But now I think its not looking too good either :(

Did your insurance deny coverage after you put the roll bar in ? What did they say exactly?

thx

[Chuck91GT]

My insurance called again and said they are still checking on this.. But now I think its not looking too good either :(

Did your insurance deny coverage after you put the roll bar in ? What did they say exactly?

thx

PM sent.

[Keith-02Accord]

Friggen insurance companies.....you're making your car more safe to be in..yet they won't insure you!!!

[CobraStang]

PM sent.
Can you PM me the info as well, Chuck?

[brujack]

Contrary to popular belief putting a cage in a street car is not more safe. Cages are designed for two types of incidents: a single vehicle crash into some sort of hard object or a multiple vehicle crash with other cars with cages. If you are in a multiple vehicle crash and the other cars do not have a cage, your car could affect their cars much more because of the increased strength introduced by the cage. When car manufacturer safety engineers test cars they test without cages.

Additionally your head will be very negatively impacted by hitting any of the cage without a helmet. You should not drive with a helmet, inside of a car while driving on the road, but if you are in an accident with the caged car, on the street, without your helmet, you will be in trouble.

Bruce

[Chuck91GT]

Can you PM me the info as well, Chuck?

When I receive it I will post in this forum or a special Insurance forum.

[Keith-02Accord]

Valid points...but then why are SUV's and pick ups allowed on the road and are often cheaper to insure.

If I were in a Cobalt, I would much rather be in an accident with a Civic that has a cage, then a Cadillac Escalade!

Furthermore, I believe he's talking about a roll bar, not a full cage. Tons of cars...especially convertibles have aftermarket roll bars.

[MazdaMatt]

The point about running into a pickup truck is valid but...

the insurance company isn't thinking "oh, he has a cage, he'll still live if he gets hit". They are thinking "This guy installed a cage in his car? Obviously he drives like a f'ing maniac, there's no way I'm covering his ass!"


They don't care about severity of accidents, they care about likelyhood of accidents. "Those people" who would cage a car are more likely to ram into something than "those people" who don't.


goes along with the thinking... "I went to racing school, i know how to handle my car better in extreme situations, i should pay less for insurance"... nuh uhh... they think "This guy races... cut him off".



I hate it, but it makes sense.

[brujack]

The roll bar vs roll cage is somewhat valid, but it is the distance between head and bar that is crucial. I have a mazda miata and I am having a very difficult time finding a roll bar that I would feel comfortable driving in without a helmet. I am 6'2" tall and my head to roll bar distance is not very good for my liking. Will the roll bar protect me from a roll over--probably, but then again it will probably kill me for a minor accident like being rear ended.

Bruce