Although a Racing Harness is much safer than a normal seat belt in an open top car, the Registration Authorities in Western Australia don't really encourage the fitting of 3 or 4 point harnesses. Nevertheless there are a lot of Lotus Seven type cars driving around WA on the road with harnesses fitted.

When I asked the Department of Transport, I was told that any harness would have to have and inertia reel retractor, and the only brand in the world that had a retractor reel was 'Scroth', said with a sneer that indicated that Scroth was excessively expensive.

However, the 2000 Demon Tweeks catalogue shows a 3 point Harness made by O.M.P. (pronounced O-M-P, not "'omp", apparently) with a retractor reel page 83, Part No. DA430N.

(This is what an OMP harness looks like on a model wearing an OMP leotard in a left hand drive vehicle).

ISSUES:
Fitting any old harness is not as simple as it seems, there are some issues to consider.

Seat belts:
Seat belts are made in Australia by 'Autoliv' (sold as 'Klippan'), they can even be purchased in various colours (black, red, blue) to look a little bit 'racey', and come fitted with inertia reels and a tag confirming that the meet Australian Design Rule (ADR) 4/02, and/or Australian Standard (AS) 2596.
Problems - seat belts are not as safe as a harness, and don't 'feel' as safe in an open top car. It is also difficult to fit a seat belt into a Locost, as a certain length of 'run' is required for the retractor to work properly. The retractor reel is difficult to fit on the 'shelf' behind the driver, or on the floor behind the seat (inside or outside of the cockpit). It is possible to fit a 'coupe/convertible' retractor horizontally on the shelf behind the driver, but there is limited room, and it may be easier to fit the retractors 'inboard'.

Harness:
Harnesses do not seem to be made in Australia, particularly those with 'inertia reels'. Most come from Europe, and are approved for road use under the ECE Regulations. Harnesses are mentioned in ADR 4/02, so in theory it is possible to fit a 4 or 3 - point harness, however the harness belt must comply the 'sunlight degradation' requirements of AS 2596 (Apparently, Autoliv in Melbourne could manufacture an ADR approved 4 point harness, using two inertia coupe/convertible horizontal reels as top anchorages, but the ADR testing would cost $10 000, so a large guaranteed order would be required before they would commence testing and production).

The intention of AS 2596 is to bring Australian Standards into harmony with European "Regulation 16", BUT with a specific exclusion of the light degradation standards. It is claimed that Australian standards require tougher testing of seat belt strength following exposure to UV light.

The requirements for retaining strength after exposure to light are included in AS 1753, which specifies that the seat belt must be exposed to light of sufficient intensity to fade the belt to Grade 3 on a standardised 'grey scale' (specified in AS 2001). The grey scale is taken from an International Standards Organisation (ISO) standard, ISO150, for colourfastness. This is where it may be possible to argue the use of a European harness is acceptable in an Aussie car.

• AS1753 specifies fading to Grade 3 in the test for approval, BUT fading to Grade 4 (less faded) is acceptable if 2 samples are used for testing (don't ask me about the logic - that's just what it says). Now, Grade 4 is the standard acceptable under European Regulation 16 (the standard 'E' marked European harnesses use). So really AS1753 isn't that much tougher than ECE Reg. 16.
• AS1753 states that passing the 'artificial light' test is equivalent to passing the 'Outdoor/Ultraviolet' light test (the one that is supposed to be tougher in Australia) for belts made out of 'polyester'. The artificial light test is actually taken from a American standard that is presumably used world wide. Therefore a European polyester belt tested to the artificial light standard would meet AS 2596.

Other Issues:

• ADR 4/02 requires bolting the belt to the anchorages (7/16" UNF 20A) so that the belt can only be removed 'with the use of a tool '. That is eye bolts and clips are unacceptable.
•  3 point harnesses require the top anchorage to be located 500 millimetres behind the 'seat reference point' (basically the seat occupants 'hips') to comply with ADR 4/02. On a Locost this point will be at the rear bodywork. On my chassis this area is strengthened to accept a roll-bar, so I intend to fit an extra tube across the back, with a steel strip 50-65 mm by 3mm between the roll bar mounting points, with 7/16" UNF20 nuts welded to the underside as the harness anchorages.