13.08.09: Volvo saves 1 million lives
August 13th, 2009 by Richard Aucock
VOLVO today celebrates 50 years of it inventing the seatbelt – and 1 million lives saved.
The invention of the three-point belt by Volvo was inspired by the firm’s president at the time.
A death in his family saw him charge engineers with creating something better than the two-point belt. It should be able to fitted with one hand, and adjust to all different shapes and sizes.
50 years on, the result of this is 35,000 lives saved in the UK alone.
The oft-overlooked safety aid is something car dealers and drivers don’t even think about today. With usage up around the 95 percent mark, putting it on is automatic for most.
However, in the US, experts reckon there would be almost 10 percent fewer people killed on the road if everyone wore a belt…
What’s more, to get a good score in Euro NCAP crash results, cars have to be fitted with a bleeper, warning people if they don’t have their seatbelt on.
This year, Volvo is marking 50 years of the three-point belt with a further bold statement.
By 2020, it wants nobody to be killed or injured in a Volvo!
‘There should be no crashes,’ said the firm’s safety guru, Thomas Broberg. ‘Why do we have to crash?
‘Why should we allow ourselves to be killed in a car – why should we settle for less?’
Safety still sells cars; Volvo car dealers will today be boosting their sales drive by highlighting an easily forgotten lifesaver…
Richard