What's the general consensus on the best way to deal with this? Unbuckle? Try to pull the belt away? Anything I've played with seems exceedingly slow.
What's the general consensus on the best way to deal with this? Unbuckle? Try to pull the belt away? Anything I've played with seems exceedingly slow.
Unbuckle.
Adjust your buckling habits to avoid being buckled when first getting in the car and when entering an area where you or any passengers would be leaving the car.
Think for yourself. Question authority.
The two main choices as I see it are:
Shirt over seat belt or seat belt over shirt.
I go shirt over seat belt and I think TLG does the reverse. Both work as long as lifting the shirt allows enough grip access.
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I go shirt over seat belt. I find that my strong hand can sweep the diagonal portion of the belt out of the way as I'm lifting my cover garment. I make it a habit to remove my belt long before I am parking the car, and leave it off while crawling through parking lots and such. That is a habit that has been ingrained in me through 16 years as a full time LEO. My belt comes off well before I arrive on scene, as well as when I'm patrolling through alleys and neighborhoods. That being said, it's good to practice getting that master grip while belted. You may need that skill when belted in at a traffic light one day.
I can't speak for all my people, but I buckle once I'm doors locked and moving. When I do, it's shirt over seatbelt.Originally Posted by hufnagel
Blue gun dry work is your friend. Airsoft helps. I've done it live fire a good bit on the range with my car but please do the dry work first.
Left Hand - Same, shirt over seat belt. When you get in make sure shirt is not locked down on the sides or back. This enables the front of the shirt to be raised enough to draw.
When right arm was broken I worked this out.
Get in, lock doors, start car, put in gear, fasten seatbelt, arrange shirt, drive.
Stop car, unfasten seatbelt and clear it, put car in park, car off, unlock door , egress.
In some cases I might have seatbelt off while rolling slowly into or out of parking. This is situation dependent. YMMV.
Last edited by 1slow; 07-04-2014 at 11:15 PM.
A question for those who advocate starting to drive before buckling or unbuckling before the vehicle is stopped: Are you concerned about the fact that driving without a belted seat belt is a moving violation in many states? Or is this something that you only do in private parking lots or on your private property?
My thought is that my best weapon while driving and best means of escape is the vehicle itself, and I really want to be belted if that happens. My habit is to watch my surroundings before entering the vehicle, buckle up as soon as I start the vehicle, and check my surroundings before stopping the engine, unbuckling, and exiting the vehicle. I am not an LEO, so my mission is very different. I do drive a lot at night (most of my driving is between midnight and 5:00 AM) in some not-so-good places, and I have driven off when I sense something is not right. The lesser traffic at night also draws more scrutiny for moving violations such as departing without a buckled seat belt, especially when there are "safety campaigns".
Mobility in the vehicle matters much more than a potential moving violation in a parking lot or just outside of the parking lot. Not to mention that it is quite hard to nab someone leaving a plaza for a seatbelt violation leaving a plaza or parking lot.
Think for yourself. Question authority.
Tuck shirt in behind holster, put seat belt over holster. If I need to conceal it (drive thru, etc.) I just pull the shirt over the holster and seat belt for that moment.
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