The Smithsonian will receive the system from Volvo during a special ceremony to be held today, July 14. The three-point safety belt is part of a collection representing a significant aspect of 75 years of safety-enhancement work in the car industry.
"The three-point safety belt turned 50 and fortunately there were already plans under way to show a collection of innovations relating to the automobile's history," Dan Johnston, product communications manager with the Corporate Communications department at Volvo Cars of North America said in a statement.
The belt to be displayed at the museum was originally fitted into a 1961 Volvo PV 544 and comes complete with the accompanying seat. According to Volvo, the authenticity of the item was verified all the way to the previous owner and to the factory. Volvo confirmed that the car was manufactured and delivered with the safety belt fitted.
The verification process is a normal one, through which all items to be displayed in the museum have to go through before being accepted.
The three-point safety belt is the brain child of Swedish inventor Nils Ivar Bohlin. For his contribution to the enhancement of automotive safety, Bohlin was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1999 and in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002.
"Today Nils Bohlin's simple but ingenious life-saver is an integral part of American history," Dan Johnston added.
Google News