Show restraint this weekend -- thanks to Volvo

The boys in blue are running a ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign to make sure that Memorial Day weekend, one of the busiest on American roads, isn’t memorable for all the wrong reasons. But when snapping your safety belt into place, regardless of the make of car, give a little ‘thank you’ to Volvo, because there’s a little bit of the Swedish company in virtually every modern vehicle.

Volvo is no Lars-come-lately to the auto safety game. In the 1950s, the lap belt -- a safety belt anchored at two points that went across the thighs/hips  -- was the contemporary technology. They held occupants in place, but were plagued by issues resulting from forces impacting on the body during a crash. Lap belts were used mostly by race car drivers at that time and were only available to the average driver as an option. Not a particularly popular one either. Given the choice between lap belts and whitewall tires, whitewalls usually won.

However, in 1958, Swedish inventor and Volvo design engineer Nils Bohlin patented what we’ve come to know as the three-point safety belt, the ingenious aspect being that the lap part of the belt could slip through the central anchor for greater comfort and adjustability. A year later, they were standard equipment in all Volvos.

An early British survey revealed that the three-point safety belt reduced the likelihood of death or serious injury arising from a car accident by 60%. This simple device has saved many people; according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 200,000 American lives.

-- Colin Ryan

Photo: Volvo