One of the most important road safety rules is that occupants of a vehicle must wear seatbelts as long as the vehicle is in motion. The purpose of the seatbelt is to keep travelers in a safe position in case of an accident.

According to The Independent, a media house, seatbelts as we know them today were invented by Nils Bohlin, a Swedish engineer working for car manufacturing company Volvo in 1958. Volvo introduced it in 1959. Bohlin came up with the idea of a three-point seatbelt in which the chest and the lap are both restrained.

Bohlin was not the first person to think of making a seatbelt. Rather, he based his invention on earlier versions that had been made. For instance, a crude version called ‘the glider’ had been developed by an English engineer named George Cayley during the early 19th Century. According to the web-based Defensive Driving Platform, the glider was specifically made to keep pilots strapped in. 

Another early contribution to the invention of the seatbelt was by American doctor Hunter Shelden who made a retractable seatbelt. According to Wikipedia, an encyclopedia, Shelden was compelled to make a seatbelt after treating many people with head injuries resulting from car accidents.

At first, people were opposed to the idea of wearing seatbelts and they refused to pay for them. They were afraid that the seatbelts would trap them. Additionally, according to Quora, an education platform, people resisted the seatbelt because it made them uncomfortable. However, eventually laws were put in place to make wearing of seatbelts compulsory for all passengers.

At first, the three-point seatbelts invented by Bohlin, which were proved to be more effective than the ones that had been made before, were only being put in front seats. The back seats had belt straps for laps. According to History, a knowledge sharing platform, belt straps for laps were later discouraged when it was found that using them resulted in internal injuries during car crashes. 

Because the seatbelt was such an important invention for mankind, Volvo availed the design to other car manufacturers without charging them for it. This is according to The Independent.

Since its invention, the car seatbelt is said to have saved over a million lives during accidents. As a result, many countries around the world still put a lot of emphasis on drivers and passengers buckling up.

However, since some people still refuse to wear seatbelts with the argument that they are uncomfortable, some manufacturing companies are trying to come up with more comfortable options. In the meantime, those who refuse to take safety precautions are usually faced with fines and other punishments.