Volvo celebrates 50th anniversary of three-point safety belt
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Updated: August 24, 2009 3:16 PM
On Aug. 13, Volvo celebrated the 50th anniversary of the most important automobile safety device ever invented: The three-point safety belt.
Invented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin in 1958 and patented in 1959, the device
has saved more than one-million lives and
is now standard
equipment on every car.
Volvo was also the first carmaker in the world to equip its cars with front seat three-point safety belts as standard.
Even after 50 years of automotive safety innovation, the three-point safety belt remains the most effective protection for occupants in the event of a collision.
The belt reduces the risk of fatalities and serious injuries from collisions by about 50 per cent.
The three-point seat belt stems from a long line of Volvo safety innovations, many now standard equipment, including multiple grades of steel throughout the vehicle, intelligent airbags, electronic vehicle-
stability systems,
roll stability control, driver alert, blind-spot identification system, lane departure, adaptive cruise control
with collision warning and automatic braking, just to name a
few.
Adding another chapter to its safety legacy, in 2009 Volvo introduced what might be termed the world’s safest passenger vehicle, the 2010 XC60 T6 AWD, which features city safety, a low-speed collision avoidance system.
For additional information on Volvo and its storied safety history, visit volvocars.com/us/experience/Pages/safety.aspx.
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