About those seat belt buckles...Those buckles are made by the Stubai company in Austria, which considers them a form of carabiner. They're designed for connecting loads for parasailing, and they have a rated longitudinal breaking strength of about 2,900 pounds. More important, they are designed for an application where quick-release is necessary, and accidental release would be deadly. So it's necessary to push both tabs at the same time to get 'em open.
I wonder if they would meet DOT approval for use on automotive seat belts. In my car, I've had the seat belt buckle fail unexpectedly a couple of times (fortunately not when it counted!).
At Darien Lake, incidentally, the "original" belts are the ones with the automotive-style buckles... :)
--Dave Althoff, Jr.