NGM Blog Central - Saved By the Belt - National Geographic Magazine

Seatbelts
Few inventors can claim credit for saving more than a million lives, but Nils Bohlin is one of them. Fifty years ago the Volvo engineer modified an airplane device and came up with the three-point seat belt—one strap across the hips, one across the chest, both anchored to the same point on the car floor.

It was a milestone advance in auto safety, especially in the car-crazy U.S., where it was rolled out in 1963. Yet manufacturers of the time worried that it would remind consumers that cars could be unsafe. Misled motorists saw it as a danger, a nuisance, or both. That attitude persisted for decades: In 1981 only 11 percent of American drivers were buckling up.

Now, however, thanks to state seat belt laws, the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign, and automated in-car reminders, U.S. usage is at 80 percent. Engineers, meanwhile, are developing and refining sci-fi safety technologies like collision-avoidance and drowsiness-monitoring systems. Experts say these ideas have promise, but Bohlin’s simple seat belt is a proven lifesaver.—Winona Dimeo-Ediger

Photograph by Ira Block

Posted by National Geographic Staff | Comments (0)
Filed Under: History, Wide Angle

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