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Dr. Phil Kevin Hart's Crash an Eye-Opener ... My '57 Chevy Needs Some Work

Kevin Hart's scary car wreck has Dr. Phil shook because, like Kevin, he owns a classic car ... and he's now realizing it comes with some serious safety concerns.

The Doc tells "TMZ Live" his '57 Chevy is the same as Hart's 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in that it's equipped with lap belts but not safety harnesses ... and he doesn't know what to do about it.

As Dr. Phil says -- they don't make cars today like they used to ... and that's not always a good thing. He shows us there's really no way to easily install shoulder strap seat belts with the way the car's built. That's not the case with Kevin's Barracuda -- shoulder straps could have been installed.

Phil points out old cars like his and Kevin's don't perform nearly as well in crash tests as modern vehicles and, without making changes ... survival rates in crashes are much lower. In fact, he says he's stunned Hart is still alive.

As we told you ... Hart suffered serious injuries -- including 3 spinal fractures -- when his classic ride crashed through a fence on Mulholland Highway in the Malibu area early Sunday. The driver, his friend Jared Black, also suffered severe back injuries.

While their injuries may not have been totally avoided had the car been equipped with safety harnesses or airbags, they certainly wouldn't have hurt ... and installing them is now top of mind for Dr. Phil.

Because like he suggests ... if this can happen to Kevin, it can happen to him too.

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