National Seat belt day - November 14th

National Seat Belt Day is observed annually on November 14th to raise awareness about the importance of wearing seat belts and to commemorate the invention of the modern three-point seat belt. The day encourages people to buckle up to reduce injuries and fatalities in car crashes. 

   The modern three-point seat belt, which includes both a shoulder and a lap strap, was invented by Nils Bohlin for Volvo in 1959 and has become the standard safety feature in vehicles today.  Seat belts started becoming standard in the mid-1950s, with Swedish manufacturer Volvo being the first to make them standard equipment in 1959. In the United States, while some cars offered them as optional equipment in the 1950s, they became standard in all new cars beginning with the 1968 model year due to a federal mandate.

Seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45% for front-seat occupants and protect against ejection from the vehicle, which is a major cause of death. They work with airbags to provide maximum protection

• On average, every 50 minutes a passenger vehicle occupant not wearing a seat belt dies in a traffic crash.

• In 2023, 10,484 passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes were not wearing seat belts.

• The national estimate of seat belt use during the day by adult front-seat passengers in 2024 was 91.2%.

Source: NHTSA

So, today we celebrate the invention of the modern three-point seat belt, and encourage consistent seat belt use for all passengers as seat belts are a simple yet crucial life-saving tool for everyone in the vehicle.