Cars & Vehicles / seatbelt-invention
Facts about Seatbelt Invention
- 05
In Sweden, seatbelt usage became compulsory for front-seat occupants in 1975, making it one of the first countries to mandate belt use by law.
- 04
Nils Bohlin's three-point seatbelt design is estimated to save over a million lives per decade worldwide.
- 03
The three-point seatbelt became mandatory equipment in all new cars sold in the United States in 1968, following federal safety regulations.
- 02
Early two-point lap belts were used in automobiles before the three-point design, but they posed serious risks of abdominal injury in crashes.
- 01
Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point seatbelt in 1959, and Volvo made the patent freely available to all automakers to save lives.