Using a seat belt can mean the difference between life and death. Reports show that the chances of surviving a serious road accident are doubled if the driver and passengers take the time to buckle up. Within the EU alone, 7000 lives would be saved every year if more people chose to use a seat belt.
- A brief history of the seat belt.
- In 1959, the Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin developed the modern three-point seat belt.
- Although the design was patented, the company decided the patent was to be left open, making it available to all vehicle manufacturers to use for free.
- This rather unconventional decision was made in the greater interest of public safety, to ensure that everyone, independently of whether they drove a Volvo or not, could be safer in traffic.
This decision proved to be very beneficial to the world. Today the three-point seat belt is an absolute requirement in all cars, trucks and partly in buses. So, you could say that there is a little – but very important – part of Volvo in every vehicle on the road.
Not yet a standard in our industry. The seat belt has been credited with saving more than one million lives and is widely considered among the most cost-effective public health interventions. It has also prevented or reduced the severity of injuries among many millions of other road users. Volvo Buses has introduced the three-point seat belt on all seats in the early 1990’s.
During the years many still felt skeptical whether this kind of protective measure would improve safety enough to constitute it. “In 2001 we have done a full roll over test with both unbelted crash dummies and the belted ones wearing two, respectively three-point seat belts” – says Peter Danielsson Safety Manager at Volvo Buses.
- The results were undisputable – occupants wearing three-point seat belts got by far less injuries and would most likely survive in the real situation” – he explains.
- With all the knowledge we have today the importance of the three-point seat belt should be obvious, particularly when it comes to intercity and long distance travels where the vehicle cruises at the higher speeds.
Unfortunately legal requirements still only applies to the driver, guide and some more exposed passenger seats. So, Volvo Buses continue to advocate for all bus occupants until it become a standard feature. And the safety awareness grows – today in Europe over 60 percent of the Volvo coaches are sold with the three point seat belts and in Scandinavia 100 percent.
Where did seatbelts come from?
What about laws? – In Victoria, Australia, the world’s first seat belt law which required passengers to wear their seat belts at all times was created in 1970. Some laws were emerging in the U.S. that said all cars had to have seatbelts. This was probably inspired by the The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.
When did wearing a seatbelt become a law?
September 14, 2016 by Defensive Driving | in Defensive Driving Online, Driving and Safety Tips, news 
The seat belt is one of our best protections in a car crash. In fact, according to the Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention, “seat belt use is the most effective way to save lives and reduce injuries in crashes as more than half (range from 53% – 59%) of teens and aged 13 – 44 years who died in crashes in 2014 were unrestrained at the time of the crash.” In short, seat belts save lives, but how did then end up in our cars in the first place? Below is a brief history of the car seat belt.
- The seat belt was invented by George Cayley, an English engineer in the late 1800’s who created these belts to help keep pilots inside their gliders.
- However, the first patented seat belt was created by American Edward J.
- Claghorn on February 10, 1885 in order to keep tourists safe in taxis in New York City.
Over time, the seat belt slowly starting showing up in manufacture cars to help passengers and drivers stay put inside their car seats. There was less concern for overall driving safety. Though invented in the late 1800’s, it wasn’t until the mid 1930’s when several U.S.
- Physicians began testing lap belts and immediately saw their impact and began urging manufacturers to provide seat belts in all cars.
- In 1954, Sports Car Club of America required competing drivers to wear lap belts during competitions and in the following year, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) appointed a Motor Vehicle Seat Belt Committee.
Race car drivers were the first to really wear seat belts to help protect them against serious internal injuries. The real breakthrough with modern seat belts came in 1958 when Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point seatbelt. Up until this point, seat belts in cars were two-point lap belts, which strapped across the body, with the buckle placed over the abdomen.
- Volvo hired Bohlin in 1958 and he designed the seat belts we know today through a three point seat belt that better protects the driver and passenger in an accident.
- The three point design was created to help secure both the upper and lower body.
- Better yet, this seat belt design was simple and effective, leading other car manufacturers to borrow the design.
When Bohlin passed away in 2002, Volvo had estimated that the seat belt had saved more than one million lives in the four decades since it was introduced. Once the idea of safety benefits of seat belts caught on in the U.S. public, sales of seat belts skyrocketed.
What was the first automatic seatbelt retractor in the US?
Locking retractors – The purpose of locking retractors is to provide the seated occupant the convenience of some free movement of the upper torso within the compartment while providing a method of limiting this movement in the event of a crash. Starting in 1996, all passenger vehicle seatbelts must lock pre-crash meaning they have a locking mechanism in the retractor or in the latch plate.
- Seat belts are stowed on spring-loaded reels called “retractors” equipped with inertial locking mechanisms that stop the belt from extending off the reel during severe deceleration.
- There are two main types of inertial seat belt locks.
- A webbing-sensitive lock is based on a centrifugal clutch activated by the rapid acceleration of the strap (webbing) from the reel.
The belt can be pulled from the reel only slowly and gradually, as when the occupant extends the belt to fasten it. A sudden rapid pull of the belt—as in a sudden braking or collision event—causes the reel to lock, restraining the occupant in position.
The first automatic locking retractor for seat belts and shoulder harnesses in the U.S. was the Irving “Dynalock” safety device. These “Auto-lock” front lap belts were optional on AMC cars with bucket seats in 1967. A vehicle-sensitive lock is based on a pendulum swung away from its plumb position by rapid deceleration or rollover of the vehicle.
In the absence of rapid deceleration or rollover, the reel is unlocked and the belt strap may be pulled from the reel against the spring tension of the reel. The vehicle occupant can move around with relative freedom while the spring tension of the reel keeps the belt taut against the occupant.
What is the purpose of a seatbelt?
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If you are one of our rare donors, we warmly thank you. Buckling a three-point seatbelt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt ) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop.
A seat belt reduces the likelihood of death or serious injury in a traffic collision by reducing the force of secondary impacts with interior strike hazards, by keeping occupants positioned correctly for maximum effectiveness of the airbag (if equipped), and by preventing occupants being ejected from the vehicle in a crash or if the vehicle rolls over,
When in motion, the driver and passengers are traveling at the same speed as the vehicle. If the vehicle suddenly stops or crashes, the occupants continue at the same speed the vehicle was going before it stopped. A seatbelt applies an opposing force to the driver and passengers to prevent them from falling out or making contact with the interior of the car (especially preventing contact with, or going through, the windshield ).
