Seventy years have passed since Volvo began experimenting with seatbelts in a 1956 Volvo Amazon prototype, and the Swedish firm is marking the milestone with another innovation in seatbelt technology.
The now-ubiquitous three-point belt was the brainchild of Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin, who had previously worked on ejector-seat systems for Swedish aerospace company Saab in the 1940s.
Drawing on that experience, Bohlin developed a three-point automotive safety belt that improved significantly on the earlier two-point lap belts seen in the 1956 Amazon prototype.
Bohlin joined Volvo in 1958 and, after a year of testing and development, presented his design to Volvo’s senior management. The system was patented in 1959 and introduced that same year on the Volvo PV544 and Amazon, becoming standard equipment across the range.
In the interest of safety, Volvo made the patent freely available to other manufacturers, paving the way for the three-point belt’s widespread adoption and accelerating its introduction as a legal requirement.
Today, Volvo continues to develop seatbelt technology with the introduction of the world’s first multi-adaptive safety belt on its Volvo EX60 SUV. The system uses live sensor data to provide tailored protection based on the height, weight and seating position of occupants, as well as the severity of the crash.
This means a higher belt load setting can be used to help reduce the risk of head injuries for a larger person involved in a serious crash, while a smaller occupant involved in a less serious collision would receive a lower belt load setting to mitigate the risk of broken ribs.
Interestingly, the system is said to improve its understanding of the car’s occupants over time, allowing it to fine-tune its responses to different scenarios. This is complemented by over-the-air updates that further improve the system’s effectiveness.
‘Volvo has always been at the forefront of safety evolution and innovation, and we’re pleased that we can continue to make new developments on such vital features like the seatbelt,’ said Volvo Cars UK managing director Nicole Melillo Shaw. ‘The latest multi-adaptive seatbelt in the new EX60 is a testament to our pioneering technology and approach to safety that is continued today.’
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