Roadside Chat: 3-point seat belt for the win!
Since 1986, the three-point line has been helping college basketball teams rack up points. Did you know the original three-pointer in safety terms is even older and has saved millions of lives?
The first 3-point seat belt was sold by Volvo in Sweden in 1959 after the automaker hired an engineer, Nils Bohlin, to find a better way to keep people safely inside a vehicle. Bohlin, who was formerly an aviation engineer who had previously helped develop ejection seats for aircraft, came up with the idea that has saved millions of lives.
Because of the live-saving potential, Volvo didn’t patent it but made the technology available to all automakers worldwide for free.
Even though the technology was available, this safety tool took a little while to catch on, but by 1968, it was mandatory in all vehicles sold in the United States.
This animation might be a bit difficult to watch, but the enactment shows just how much you can reduce your risk of serious injury or deal by simply buckling up - https://youtu.be/pYuqLZxcz3A?si=WoLAJW_vCZM7pJN0
So far in 2024 in Iowa, 50 people have been killed in traffic crashes. That’s an increase of three since last Friday. In Iowa in 2023, there were 377 traffic-related deaths. To see statistics published daily by the Office of Driver Services, go to the daily fatality report at https://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/stats/daily.pdf