The Auto Writer

Okay, Volvo has been taking some steps lately toward putting a little bit of pizzazz in their vehicle designs…the XC60 is rather nice looking. But, where the Swedish brand really excels is with all things safety. Most people don’t need help stopping their cars, however I can see where the appropriately named City Safety feature can come in handy — like in Manhattan!

Perhaps the most important safety featured that has ever come from Volvo is the three-point seatbelt, an invention of Nils I. Bohlin (pictured), a Volvo safety engineer. Invented in 1958 and patented in 1959, Bohlin’s invention has been credited with saving more than one million lives. To Volvo’s credit, the automaker later shared that technology with its competitors, hence its worldwide distribution.

Volvo says that the three-point safety belt reduces fatalities by fifty percent. In 2008, U.S. seatbelt usage for front seat occupants increased to 83%, the highest that it has ever been.

Over the past fifty years, Volvo has been a leader in automotive safety technology, building vehicles with multiple grades of energy absorbing steel alloys, intelligent airbags, electronic vehicle stability systems, Roll Stability Control (RSC) and low-speed accident avoidance systems as introduced via City Safety.

Bohlin retired in 1985 and lived to see himself inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1999 and the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002, the same year that he died.

For more seatbelt excitement, check out the following video. And please remember to buckle up!

Photo and video courtesy of Volvo Cars.