I read in the free newspaper Metro on the 13 August that it was the 50th anniversary of the seatbelt. This was a reference to Nils Bohlin of Volvo.
The brief article stated "His work was deemed so vital to safety that no patent was sought". Actually, they did get a patent, but it's true that they did not enforce it. The American patent was published as Safety belt in 1962.
There is a claim that the concept of the "across the chest" vehicle seatbelt dates back to Roger Griswold and Hugh De Haven for Griswold Company in 1951, with their Combination shoulder and lap safety belts.
De Haven’s contribution was the inertia reel, where the belt is tightened by a fast movement (as in a crash) but not by a slow movement. This is done by a centrifugal clutch, which engages if the reel spins quickly.
The idea of seat belts had a hard time being accepted at first, as consumers thought that its introduction by manufacturers meant that the car was unsafe. It was not until 1964 that most manufacturers supplied them as standard fittings. In the UK, their installation became compulsory in the front seats in 1967.
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