What safety device was invented by Nils Bohlin for Volvo in 1959?
Answer
Three-point seatbelt
The safety device invented by Nils Bohlin for Volvo in 1959 was the three-point seatbelt.
Bohlin was a Swedish engineer who joined Volvo in 1958 after working at Saab on aircraft ejection seats. Drawing on that experience, he designed a restraint that held the body securely across the lap and chest while remaining simple enough to fasten quickly in a car.
Volvo introduced the three-point belt in 1959 and made the patent available to other manufacturers without demanding licensing fees. The design’s three contact points spread crash forces across stronger areas of the body—the pelvis, chest and shoulder—rather than concentrating them on the abdomen or neck.
The invention is often confused with airbags, crumple zones or side-impact protection, but those are different safety systems developed or refined at different times. Bohlin later studied 28,000 Swedish crashes, helping demonstrate the belt’s life-saving value. The three-point arrangement remains the basic restraint system used in passenger cars worldwide.