What safety device did Nils Bohlin develop at Volvo?

Nils Bohlin developed the three-point seat belt at Volvo. His design combined a lap belt with a diagonal upper-body strap, securing both the pelvis and chest in a simple system that could be fastened with one hand.

Bohlin joined Volvo in 1958 after working at Saab on aircraft ejection seats. Volvo introduced his automobile belt in 1959, and the design was patented in 1962. Drawing on his aviation-safety experience, Bohlin focused on keeping the occupant restrained while spreading crash forces across the body’s stronger areas.

Volvo made the patent available to other manufacturers, helping the three-point belt become a worldwide safety standard. Bohlin later analyzed approximately 28,000 crashes in Sweden, finding a strong relationship between belt use and survival.

The answer is sometimes confused with airbags, head restraints, or crumple zones. Those technologies also reduce injury, but they were not the safety device Bohlin is famous for developing.