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It
wasn’t the Crash Test Dummies who convinced a skeptical American
public that the 3-point lap/shoulder safety belt was the safest
way to go in automobiles. It was a video of a “crash cart” with
an egg strapped in that made the case to the U. S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission for Nils Bohlin, safety engineer for Volvo in
Gottenberg, Sweden. For Bohlin knew when he came to America in
1968 to present his work that creating acceptance for his belt
and, more importantly, for wearing it was as important as the
design for the device itself.
Ten
years before the egg cart demonstration, in 1958, Bohlin was recruited
to Volvo by its then-president, Gunnar Engellau, with a mandate
to make safety a principle selling point in the company’s cars.
Coming from the aerospace industry, Bohlin had seen the stresses
that a human body undergoes in high-speed crash situations, and
he understood the limitations of restraint devices, particularly
those that were cumbersome, uncomfortable and difficult to use.
Following a year of extensive testing and re-engineering, his
breakthrough came with the realization that both the upper and
the lower body must be held securely in place with one strap across
the chest and one across the hips, with the joint for the two
belts located just next to the occupant’s hip. It was an elegant
solution, so simple that a person could buckle-up with just one
hand and be comfortable in the process.
Kurzweil
Reading Machine
3-Point Seat Belt
Laser Surgery
Implantable Defibrillator
Ceramic Substrate For
Catalytic Converters
Aspirin
ENIAC Data Translating Device
Bessemer Steel Process
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