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107-663: There were two mainstream models of the Beat (the PP1–100 and the PP1–110) and a couple of limited edition versions. Variations on the first model were just cosmetic updates. Only the second model had any real mechanical differences. All cars were offered with the option of a driver-side airbag . The car was marketed by Honda as "Midship Amusement" and was sold exclusively in Japan, at Honda Primo dealership sales channels. In typical Honda fashion,

214-405: A pawl is engaged, the reel locks and the strap restrains the belted occupant in position. Dual-sensing locking retractors use both vehicle G-loading and webbing payout rate to initiate the locking mechanism. Seat belts in many newer vehicles are also equipped with "pretensioners" or "web clamps", or both. Pretensioners preemptively tighten the belt to prevent the occupant from jerking forward in

321-409: A performance-based occupant-protection standard rather than one mandating a particular technical solution (which could rapidly become outdated and prove to not be a cost-effective approach). Less emphasis was placed on other designs as countries successfully mandated seat belt restrictions, however. The auto industry and research and regulatory communities have moved away from their initial view of

428-445: A bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with soft cushioning and restraint during a collision. It can reduce injuries between the flailing occupant and the vehicle's interior. The airbag provides an energy-absorbing surface between

535-421: A ball-in-tube mechanism for crash detection. Under his system, an electromechanical sensor with a steel ball attached to a tube by a magnet would inflate an airbag in under 30 milliseconds. A small explosion of sodium azide was used instead of compressed air during inflation for the first time. Breed Corporation then marketed this innovation to Chrysler . A similar "Auto-Ceptor" crash-restraint, developed by

642-429: A buckled person in a crash using an increased seat belt area. This is done to reduce possible injuries to the rib cage or chest of the belt wearer. Seat belt A seat belt , also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt , is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduces

749-469: A crash occurs, the bladder inflates with gas to increase the area of the restraint contacting the occupant and also shortening the length of the restraint to tighten the belt around the occupant, improving the protection. The inflatable sections may be shoulder-only or lap and shoulder. The system supports the head during the crash better than a web-only belt. It also provides side impact protection. In 2013, Ford began offering rear-seat inflatable seat belts on

856-420: A crash. Mercedes-Benz first introduced pretensioners on the 1981 S-Class . In the event of a crash, a pretensioner will tighten the belt almost instantaneously. This reduces the motion of the occupant in a violent crash. Like airbags, pretensioners are triggered by sensors in the car's body, and many pretensioners have used explosively expanding gas to drive a piston that retracts the belt. Pretensioners also lower

963-493: A driver's airbag as an option, but by 1999, even side airbags were available on several variants. Audi was late to offer airbag systems on a broader scale, since even in the 1994 model year, its popular models did not offer airbags. Instead, the German automaker until then relied solely on its proprietary cable-based procon-ten restraint system. Variable force-deployment front airbags were developed to help minimize injury from

1070-436: A factory option, in its 1949 models. They were installed in 40,000 cars, but buyers did not want them and requested that dealers remove them. The feature was "met with insurmountable sales resistance" and Nash reported that after one year "only 1,000 had been used" by customers. Ford offered seat belts as an option in 1955. These were not popular, with only 2% of Ford buyers choosing to pay for seat belts in 1956. To reduce

1177-682: A front center airbag; it deploys from the driver's seat. Hyundai Motor Group announced its development of a center-side airbag on September 18, 2019, installed inside the driver's seat. Some Volkswagen vehicles in 2022 equipped with center airbags include the ID.3 and the Golf . The Polestar 2 also includes a center airbag. With EuroNCAP updating its testing guidelines in 2020, European and Australian market vehicles increasingly use front-center airbags, rear torso airbags, and rear seat belt pre-tensioners. The second driver-side and separate knee airbag

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1284-722: A knee and torso cushion while also having a dual-stage deployment dictated by force of the impact. The cars equipped with ACRS had lap belts for all seating positions, but lacked shoulder belts. Shoulder belts were already mandatory in the United States on closed cars without airbags for the driver and outer front passenger, but GM chose to market its airbags as a substitute for shoulder belts. Prices for this option on Cadillac models were US$ 225 in 1974, $ 300 in 1975, and $ 340 in 1976 (US$ 1,820 in 2023 dollars ). The early development of airbags coincided with international interest in automobile safety legislation. Some safety experts advocated

1391-484: A limited set of models, such as the Explorer and Flex . Seat belts that automatically move into position around a vehicle occupant once the adjacent door is closed and/or the engine is started were developed as a countermeasure against low usage rates of manual seat belts, particularly in the United States. The 1972 Volkswagen ESVW1 Experimental Safety Vehicle presented passive seat belts. Volvo tried to develop

1498-423: A measure of safety not available when these cars were new. However, modern BIS systems typically use electronics that must be installed and connected with the seats and the vehicle's electrical system in order to function properly. Five-point harnesses are typically found in child safety seats and in racing cars. The lap portion is connected to a belt between the legs and there are two shoulder belts, making

1605-470: A new front passenger airbag technology. Developed by Autoliv and Honda R&D in Ohio, United States , this new airbag design features three inflatable chambers connected across the front by a "noninflatable sail panel." The two outer chambers are larger than the middle chamber. When the airbag deploys, the sail panel cushions the occupant's head from the impact of hitting the airbag, and the three chambers hold

1712-686: A new model of the genre until the 2002 Daihatsu Copen . On May 9, 2010, a parade was held in the Twin Ring Motegi circuit as a part of an annual Beat owners meeting. 569 Honda Beats participated in the parade, which is certified by Guinness World Records as the largest parade of Honda cars. The record was shown in the 2011 edition of Guinness World Records. Various versions: Standard Equipment: air conditioning, power windows, 3-point seat belt, sun visor, front stabilizer, front laminated glass, side-toughened glass, halogen head lamps , soft top, steel wheels. 1992.02: The Beat Version F features

1819-523: A passive three point seat belt. In 1973, Volkswagen announced they had a functional passive seat belt. The first commercial car to use automatic seat belts was the 1975 Volkswagen Golf . Automatic seat belts received a boost in the United States in 1977 when Brock Adams , United States Secretary of Transportation in the Carter Administration , mandated that by 1983 every new car should have either airbags or automatic seat belts. There

1926-620: A pioneering aviator with the Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps , so he might remain at the controls during turbulence. The Irvin Air Chute Company made the seat belt for use by professional race car driver Barney Oldfield when his team decided the daredevil should have a "safety harness" for the 1923 Indianapolis 500 . A lap belt is a strap that goes over the waist. This was the most common type of belt prior to legislation requiring three-point belts and

2033-587: A potential collision and assist in placing the occupants in a more optimal seating position. The electric pretensioners also can operate on a repeated or sustained basis, providing better protection in the event of an extended rollover or a multiple collision accident. The inflatable seat belt was invented by Donald Lewis and tested at the Automotive Products Division of Allied Chemical Corporation . Inflatable seat belts have tubular inflatable bladders contained within an outer cover. When

2140-459: A result of there being too much slack in the seat belt at the time of the accident. It has been suggested that although seat belt usage reduces the probability of death in any given accident, mandatory seat belt laws have little or no effect on the overall number of traffic fatalities because seat belt usage also disincentivizes safe driving behaviors, thereby increasing the total number of accidents. This idea, known as compensating-behavior theory,

2247-447: A safety performance improvement in vehicles with seat-mounted belts versus belts mounted to the vehicle body. Belt-in-Seat type belts have been used by automakers in convertibles and pillarless hardtops, where there is no "B" pillar to affix the upper mount of the belt. Chrysler and Cadillac are well known for using this design. Antique auto enthusiasts sometimes replace original seats in their cars with BIS-equipped front seats, providing

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2354-506: A scenario, the occupant may be thrown from the vehicle and suffer greater injury or death. Because many automatic belt system designs compliant with the U.S. passive-restraint mandate did not meet the anchorage requirements of Canada (CMVSS 210)—which were not weakened to accommodate automatic belts—vehicle models that had been eligible for easy importation in either direction across the U.S.-Canada border when equipped with manual belts became ineligible for importation in either direction once

2461-597: A seat belt. Their work was presented to Swedish manufacturer Volvo in the late 1950s, and set the standard for seat belts in Swedish cars. The three-point seat belt was developed to its modern form by Swedish inventor Nils Bohlin for Volvo, which introduced it in 1959 as standard equipment. In addition to designing an effective three-point belt, Bohlin demonstrated its effectiveness in a study of 28,000 accidents in Sweden. Unbelted occupants sustained fatal injuries throughout

2568-549: A side-curtain airbag deploying from the roof on the Progrés . In 1998, the Volvo S80 was given roof-mounted curtain airbags to protect both front and rear passengers. Curtain airbags were then made standard equipment on all new Volvo cars from 2000 except for the first-generation C70 , which received an enlarged side-torso airbag that also protects the head of front-seat occupants. The second-generation C70 convertible received

2675-504: A six-point harness in response. Aerobatic aircraft frequently use a combination harness consisting of a five-point harness with a redundant lap belt attached to a different part of the aircraft. While providing redundancy for negative-g maneuvers (which lift the pilot out of the seat), they also require the pilot to unlatch two harnesses if it is necessary to parachute from a failed aircraft. The purpose of locking retractors (sometimes called ELR belts, for "Emergency Locking Retractors")

2782-636: A spring, bumper contact, or by the driver. Later research during the 1960s showed that compressed air could not inflate the mechanical airbags fast enough to ensure maximum safety, leading to the current chemical and electrical airbags. In patent applications, manufacturers sometimes use the term "inflatable occupant restraint systems". Hetrick was an industrial engineer and member of the United States Navy . His airbag design, however, only came about when he combined his experiences working with navy torpedoes with his desire to protect his family on

2889-612: A standard driver-side airbag. The first known collision between two airbag-equipped automobiles took place on 12 March 1990 in Virginia , USA. A 1989 Chrysler LeBaron crossed the center line and hit another 1989 Chrysler LeBaron in a head-on collision , causing both driver airbags to deploy. The drivers suffered only minor injuries despite extensive damage to the vehicles. The United States Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 required passenger cars and light trucks built after 1 September 1998 to have airbags for

2996-494: A sudden braking or collision event—causes the reel to lock, restraining the occupant in position. The first automatic locking retractor for seat belts and shoulder harnesses in the U.S. was the Irving "Dynalock" safety device. These "Auto-lock" front lap belts were optional on AMC cars with bucket seats in 1967. A vehicle-sensitive lock is based on a pendulum swung away from its plumb position by rapid deceleration or rollover of

3103-408: A supplemental restraint system for the vehicle's seat belt systems. Newer side-impact airbag modules consist of compressed-air cylinders that are triggered in the event of a side-on vehicle impact. The first commercial designs were introduced in passenger automobiles during the 1970s, with limited success and caused some fatalities. Broad commercial adoption of airbags occurred in many markets during

3210-467: A switch can disable the feature in case the driver wants to take the vehicle off-road. In 2009, Toyota developed the first production rear-seat center airbag designed to reduce the severity of secondary injuries to rear passengers in a side collision. This system deploys from the rear center seat first appearing in on the Crown Majesta . In late 2012, General Motors with supplier Takata introduced

3317-430: A total of five points of attachment to the seat. A 4-point harness is similar, but without the strap between the legs, while a 6-point harness has two belts between the legs. In NASCAR , the 6-point harness became popular after the death of Dale Earnhardt , who was wearing a five-point harness when he suffered his fatal crash. As it was first thought that his belt had broken, and broke his neck at impact, some teams ordered

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3424-443: A unique steering wheel that contained the driver-side airbag. Two of these cars were crash tested after 20 years and the airbags deployed perfectly. An early example of the airbag cars survives as of 2009. GM's Oldsmobile Toronado was the first domestic U.S. vehicle to include a passenger airbag in 1973. General Motors marketed its first airbag modules under the "Air Cushion Restraint System" name, or ACRS. The automaker discontinued

3531-611: Is a three-point harness with the shoulder belt attached to the seat itself, rather than to the vehicle structure. The first car using this system was the Range Rover Classic , which offered BIS as standard on the front seats from 1970. Some cars like the Renault Vel Satis use this system for the front seats. A General Motors assessment concluded seat-mounted three-point belts offer better protection especially to smaller vehicle occupants, though GM did not find

3638-597: Is credited independently to the American John W. Hetrick , who filed for an airbag patent on 5 August 1952, that was granted #2,649,311 by the United States Patent Office on 18 August 1953. German engineer Walter Linderer, who filed German patent #896,312 on 6 October 1951, was issued on 12 November 1953, approximately three months after American John Hetrick. The airbags proposed by Hetrick and Linderer were based on compressed air released by

3745-593: Is found in older cars. Coaches are equipped with lap belts (although many newer coaches have three-point belts), as are passenger aircraft seats. University of Minnesota professor James J. (Crash) Ryan was the inventor of, and held the patent for, the automatic retractable lap safety belt. Ralph Nader cited Ryan's work in Unsafe at Any Speed and, following hearings led by Senator Abraham Ribicoff , President Lyndon Johnson signed two bills in 1966 requiring safety belts in all passenger vehicles starting in 1968. Until

3852-403: Is not related to active and passive safety , which are, respectively, systems designed to prevent collisions in the first place, and systems designed to minimize the effects of collisions once they occur. In this use, a car Anti-lock braking system qualifies as an active-safety device, while both its seat belts and airbags qualify as passive-safety devices. Terminological confusion can arise from

3959-532: Is not supported by the evidence. In case of vehicle rollover in a U.S. passenger car or SUV, from 1994 to 2004, wearing a seat belt reduced the risk of fatalities or incapacitating injuries and increased the probability of no injury: Seat belts were invented by English engineer George Cayley , to use on his glider , in the mid-19th century. In 1946, C. Hunter Shelden opened a neurological practice at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California . In

4066-461: Is to provide the seated occupant the convenience of some free movement of the upper torso within the compartment while providing a method of limiting this movement in the event of a crash. Starting in 1996, all passenger vehicles were required to lock pre-crash, meaning they have a locking mechanism in the retractor or in the latch plate. Seat belts are stowed on spring-loaded reels called "retractors" equipped with inertial locking mechanisms that stop

4173-565: The Chevrolet Onix , are often sold without airbags, as neither airbags nor automatic braking systems in new cars are compulsory in many Latin American countries. Some require the installation of a minimum of only two airbags in new cars which many in this market have. The Citroën C4 provided the first "shaped" driver airbag, made possible by this car's unusual fixed-hub steering wheel. In 2019, Honda announced it would introduce

4280-552: The Eaton, Yale & Towne company for Ford, was soon also offered as an automatic safety system in the United States, while the Italian Eaton-Livia company offered a variant with localized air cushions. In the early 1970s, General Motors began offering cars equipped with airbags, initially in government fleet-purchased 1973 Chevrolet Impala sedans. These cars came with a 1974-style Oldsmobile instrument panel and

4387-482: The Honda Legend . In 1988, Chrysler became the first United States automaker to fit a driver-side airbag as standard equipment, which was offered in six different models. The following year, Chrysler became the first US auto manufacturer to offer driver-side airbags in all its new passenger models. Chrysler also began featuring the airbags in advertisements showing how the devices had saved lives that helped

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4494-579: The 1980s, three-point belts were commonly available only in the front outboard seats of cars; the back seats were often only fitted with lap belts. Evidence of the potential of lap belts to cause separation of the lumbar vertebrae and the sometimes-associated paralysis , or " seat belt syndrome " led to the progressive revision of passenger safety regulations in nearly all developed countries to require three-point belts, first in all outboard seating positions, and eventually in all seating positions in passenger vehicles. Since September 1, 2007, all new cars sold in

4601-477: The 1995–96 Ford Escort / Mercury Tracer and the Eagle Summit Wagon , which had automatic safety belts along with dual airbags. Automatic belt systems generally offer inferior occupant crash protection. In systems with belts attached to the door rather than a sturdier fixed portion of the vehicle body, a crash that causes the vehicle door to open leaves the occupant without belt protection. In such

4708-475: The 2021 model year) for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W223) . The W223 S-Class is the first car equipped with rear seat airbags that use gas to inflate supporting structures that unfold and extend a bag that fills with ambient air, instead of conventional fully gas-inflated airbags that are widely used in automotive airbag systems. Essentially, two types of side airbags are commonly used today -

4815-619: The Aztec Green Pearl color and alloy wheels. 1992.05: The Beat Version C features the Captiva Blue Pearl color and white alloy wheels. 1993.05: The Beat Version Z features the Blade Silver Metallic color or Everglade Green Metallic color, three black gauges, mud guards, rear spoiler, exhaust pipe finisher, and alloy wheels. Airbag An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using

4922-474: The Beat's engine did not utilize a turbocharger or supercharger . The 656 cc (40.0 cu in) engine was modified with the MTREC (Multi Throttle Responsive Engine Control) system, with individual throttle bodies for each of the three cylinders, to produce 64 PS (63 bhp) at 8,100 rpm with an electronically-limited top speed of 135 km/h (84 mph). Only a 5-speed manual transmission

5029-456: The U.S. require a lap and shoulder belt in the center rear seat. In addition to regulatory changes, "seat belt syndrome" has led to a liability for vehicle manufacturers. One Los Angeles case resulted in a $ 45 million jury verdict against Ford; the resulting $ 30 million judgment (after deductions for another defendant who settled prior to trial) was affirmed on appeal in 2006. While lap belts are exceedingly rare to spot in modern cars, they are

5136-532: The U.S. variants obtained automatic belts and the Canadian versions retained manual belts, although some Canadian versions also had automatic seat belts. Two particular models affected were the Dodge Spirit and Plymouth Acclaim . Automatic belt systems also present several operational disadvantages. Motorists who would normally wear seat belts must still fasten the manual lap belt, thus rendering redundant

5243-500: The United States in 1984 compared a variety of seat belt types alone and in combination with air bags . The range of fatality reduction for front seat passengers was broad, from 20% to 55%, as was the range of major injury, from 25% to 60%. More recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has summarized these data by stating "seat belts reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about half." Most malfunctions are

5350-565: The United States in the 1970s. When seat-belt usage rates in the country were quite low compared to modern-day, Ford built experimental cars with airbags in 1971. Allstate operated a fleet of 200 Mercury Montereys and showed the reliability of airbags as well as their operation in crash testing, which also was promoted by the insurance company in popular magazine advertisements. General Motors followed in 1973 using full-sized Chevrolet vehicles. The early fleet of experimental GM vehicles equipped with airbags experienced seven fatalities, one of which

5457-536: The airbag as a seat-belt replacement, and the bags are now nominally designated as supplemental restraint systems ( SRS ) or supplemental inflatable restraints. In 1981, Mercedes-Benz introduced the airbag in West Germany as an option on its flagship saloon model, S-Class (W126) . In the Mercedes system, the sensors automatically tensioned the seat belts to reduce occupants' motion on impact and then deployed

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5564-416: The airbag electronic controller unit (ECU), including collision type, angle, and severity of impact. Using this information, the airbag ECU's crash algorithm determines if the crash event meets the criteria for deployment and triggers various firing circuits to deploy one or more airbag modules within the vehicle. Airbag module deployments are activated through a pyrotechnic process designed to be used once as

5671-585: The airbag itself. The emergence of the airbag has contributed to a sharp decline in the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads of Europe since 1990, and by 2010, the number of cars on European roads lacking an airbag represented a very small percentage of cars, mostly the remaining cars dating from the mid-1990s or earlier. Many new cars in Latin America, including the Kia Rio , Kia Picanto , Hyundai Grand i10 , Mazda 2 , Chevrolet Spark and

5778-453: The airbag on impact. This integrated the seat belts and the airbag into a restraint system, rather than the airbag being considered an alternative to the seat belt. In 1987, the Porsche 944 Turbo became the first car to have driver and passenger airbags as standard equipment. The Porsche 944 and 944S had this as an available option. The same year also had the first airbag in a Japanese car,

5885-618: The airbag to its model ranges in 1992. Citroën , Fiat , Nissan , Hyundai , Peugeot , Renault , and Volkswagen followed shortly afterwards. By 1999, finding a new mass-market car without an airbag at least as optional equipment was difficult, and some late 1990s products, such as the Volkswagen Golf Mk4 , also featured side airbags. The Peugeot 306 is one example of the European automotive mass-market evolution: starting in early 1993, most of these models did not even offer

5992-469: The airbag was installed in a few experimental Ford cars. In 1964, a Japanese automobile engineer, Yasuzaburou Kobori (小堀保三郎), started developing an airbag "safety net" system. His design harnessed an explosive to inflate an airbag, for which he was later awarded patents in 14 countries. He died in 1975, before seeing the widespread adoption of airbag systems. In 1967, a breakthrough in developing airbag crash sensors came when Allen K. Breed invented

6099-1027: The auto industry, dropped the mandate; the decision was overruled in a federal appeals court the following year, and then by the Supreme Court . In 1984, the Reagan Administration reversed its course, though in the meantime the original deadline had been extended; Elizabeth Dole , then Transportation Secretary, proposed that the two passive safety restraints be phased into vehicles gradually, from vehicle model year 1987 to vehicle model year 1990, when all vehicles would be required to have either automatic seat belts or driver side air bags. Though more awkward for vehicle occupants, most manufacturers opted to use less expensive automatic belts rather than airbags during this time period. When driver side airbags became mandatory on all passenger vehicles in model year 1995 , most manufacturers stopped equipping cars with automatic seat belts. Exceptions include

6206-408: The automation of the shoulder belt. Those who do not fasten the lap belt wind up inadequately protected only by the shoulder belt. In a crash, without a lap belt, such a vehicle occupant is likely to "submarine" (be thrown forward under the shoulder belt) and be seriously injured. Motorized or door-affixed shoulder belts hinder access to the vehicle, making it difficult to enter and exit—particularly if

6313-598: The backrest of the front seats and protect the head and the torso. In 1997, the BMW 7 Series and 5 Series were fitted with tubular-shaped head side airbags (inflatable tubular structure), the "Head Protection System (HPS)" as standard equipment. This airbag was designed to offer head protection in side impact collisions and also maintained inflation for up to seven seconds for rollover protection. However, this tubular-shaped airbag design has been quickly replaced by an inflatable 'curtain' airbag. In May 1998, Toyota began offering

6420-409: The belt from extending off the reel during severe deceleration. There are two main types of inertial seat belt locks. A webbing-sensitive lock is based on a centrifugal clutch activated by the rapid acceleration of the strap (webbing) from the reel. The belt can be pulled from the reel only slowly and gradually, as when the occupant extends the belt to fasten it. A sudden rapid pull of the belt—as in

6527-635: The curtain airbags are programmed to deploy during some/all frontal impacts to manage passenger kinetics (e.g. head hitting B-pillar on the rebound), especially in offset crashes such as the IIHS's small overlap crash test. Roll-sensing curtain airbags are designed to stay inflated for a longer duration of time, cover a larger proportion of the window, and be deployed in a roll-over crash. They offer protection to occupants' heads and help to prevent ejection. SUVs and pickups are more likely to be equipped with RSCAs due to their higher probability of rolling over and often

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6634-433: The door. These airbags are designed to reduce the risk of injury to the pelvic and lower abdomen regions. Most vehicles are now being equipped with different types of designs, to help reduce injury and ejection from the vehicle in rollover crashes. More recent side-airbag designs include a two-chamber system; a firmer lower chamber for the pelvic region and softer upper chamber for the ribcage. Swedish company Autoliv AB

6741-581: The driver and the front passenger. In the United States, NHTSA estimated that airbags had saved over 4,600 lives by 1 September 1999; however, the crash deployment experience of the early 1990s installations indicated that some fatalities and serious injuries were in fact caused by airbags. In 1998, NHTSA initiated new rules for advanced airbags that gave automakers more flexibility in devising effective technological solutions. The revised rules also required improved protection for occupants of different sizes regardless of whether they use seat belts, while minimizing

6848-412: The driver's knees and legs and a knee airbag worked well." Since then certain models have also included front-passenger knee airbags, which deploy near or over the glove compartment in a crash. Knee airbags are designed to reduce leg injury. The knee airbag has become increasingly common since 2000. In 2008, the new Toyota iQ microcar featured the first production rear-curtain shield airbag to protect

6955-403: The early 1950s, Shelden made a major contribution to the automotive industry with his idea of retractable seat belts. This came about from his care of the high number of head injuries coming through the emergency room. He investigated the early seat belts with primitive designs that were implicated in these injuries and deaths. Nash was the first American car manufacturer to offer seat belts as

7062-400: The event an actual collision occurs. Pre-emptive systems generally use electric pretensioners, which can operate repeatedly and for a sustained period, rather than pyrotechnic pretensioners, which can only operate a single time. Webclamps stop the webbing in the event of an accident and limit the distance the webbing can spool out (caused by the unused webbing tightening on the central drum of

7169-426: The fact that passive devices and systems—those requiring no input or action by the vehicle occupant—can operate independently in an active manner; an airbag is one such device. Vehicle safety professionals are generally careful in their use of language to avoid this sort of confusion. However, advertising principles sometimes prevent such semantic caution in the consumer marketing of safety features. Further confusing

7276-455: The first SUV to offer a driver-side airbag when it was launched in 1992. Driver and passenger airbags became standard equipment in all Dodge Intrepid , Eagle Vision , and Chrysler Concorde sedans ahead of any safety regulations. Early 1993 saw the 4-millionth airbag-equipped Chrysler vehicle roll off the assembly line. In October 1993, the Dodge Ram became the first pickup truck with

7383-416: The high level of injuries Shelden was seeing, he proposed, in late 1955, retractable seat belts, recessed steering wheels , reinforced roofs, roll bars , automatic door locks, and passive restraints such as air bags be made mandatory. Glenn W. Sheren, of Mason, Michigan , submitted a patent application on March 31, 1955, for an automotive seat belt and was awarded U.S. patent 2,855,215 in 1958. This

7490-450: The late 1980s and early 1990s. Many modern vehicles now include six or more units. Airbags are considered "passive" restraints and act as a supplement to "active" restraints. Because no action by a vehicle occupant is required to activate or use the airbag, it is considered a "passive" device. This is in contrast to seat belts , which are considered "active" devices because the vehicle occupant must act to enable them. This terminology

7597-427: The laws. Some cut seat belts out of their cars. The 'belt' part of the typical seatbelt seen in vehicles worldwide is referred to as the 'webbing'. Modern seat belt webbing has a high tensile strength , about 3000-6000lbs, to resist tearing at high loads such as during high-speed collisions or while restraining larger passengers. While nylon was used in some early seat belts (and is still used for lap belts), it

7704-407: The likelihood of death or serious injury in a traffic collision by reducing the force of secondary impacts with interior strike hazards, by keeping occupants positioned correctly for maximum effectiveness of the airbag (if equipped), and by preventing occupants being ejected from the vehicle in a crash or if the vehicle rolls over . When in motion, the driver and passengers are traveling at

7811-738: The mechanism). These belts also often incorporate an energy management loop ("rip stitching") in which a section of the webbing is looped and stitched with special stitching. The function of this is to "rip" at a predetermined load, which reduces the maximum force transmitted through the belt to the occupant during a violent collision, reducing injuries to the occupant. A study demonstrated that standard automotive three-point restraints fitted with pyrotechnic or electric pretensioners were not able to eliminate all interior passenger compartment head strikes in rollover test conditions. Electric pretensioners are often incorporated on vehicles equipped with precrash systems ; they are designed to reduce seat belt slack in

7918-593: The new Toyota Cressida became the first car to offer motorized automatic passive seat belts. A study released in 1978 by the United States Department of Transportation said that cars with automatic seat belts had a fatality rate of .78 per 100 million miles, compared with 2.34 for cars with regular, manual belts. In 1981, Drew Lewis , the first Transportation Secretary of the Reagan Administration , influenced by studies done by

8025-639: The occupant's head in place, like a catcher's mitt. The goal of the tri-chamber airbag is to help "arrest high-speed movement" of the head, thereby reducing the likelihood of concussion injuries in a collision. The first vehicle to come with the tri-chamber airbag installed from the factory was in 2020 (for the 2021 model year) for the Acura TLX . Honda hopes that the new technology will soon make its way to all vehicles. Mercedes began offering rear passengers protection in frontal collisions in September 2020 (for

8132-399: The option for its 1977 model year , citing a lack of consumer interest. Ford and GM then spent years lobbying against air-bag requirements, claiming that the devices were unfeasible and inappropriate. Chrysler made driver-side airbags standard on 1988 and 1989 models, but airbags did not become widespread in American cars until the early 1990s. Airbags for passenger cars were introduced in

8239-466: The outboard front seating positions of many vehicles in the North American market starting at the inception of the shoulder belt requirement of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 's (NHTSA) Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 on January 1, 1968. However, if the shoulder strap is used without the lap belt, the vehicle occupant is likely to "submarine", or slide forward in

8346-456: The public know the value of them and safety became a selling advantage in the late 1980s. All versions of the Chrysler minivans came with airbags starting for the 1991 model year. In 1993, The Lincoln Motor Company boasted that all vehicles in their model line were equipped with dual airbags, one for the driver's side and another for the passenger's side. The 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee became

8453-512: The rear occupants' heads in the event of a rear-end impact. Another feature of the Toyota iQ was a seat-cushion airbag in the passenger seat to prevent the pelvis from diving below the lap belt during a frontal impact or submarining. Later Toyota models such as the Yaris added the feature to the driver's seat, as well. The seat-belt airbag is designed to better distribute the forces experienced by

8560-520: The risk of "submarining", which occurs when a passenger slides forward under a loosely fitted seat belt. Some systems also pre-emptively tighten the belt during fast accelerations and strong decelerations, even if no crash has happened. This has the advantage that it may help prevent the driver from sliding out of position during violent evasive maneuvers, which could cause loss of control of the vehicle. These pre-emptive safety systems may prevent some collisions from happening, as well as reduce injuries in

8667-420: The risk to infants, children, and other occupants caused by airbags. In Europe , airbags were almost unheard of until the early 1990s. By 1991, four manufacturers – BMW , Honda , Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo – offered the airbag on some of their higher-end models, but shortly afterward, airbags became a common feature on more mainstream cars, with Ford and Vauxhall / Opel among the manufacturers to introduce

8774-423: The road. Despite working with the major automobile manufacturers of his time, Hetrick was unable to attract investment. Although airbags are now required in every automobile sold in the United States, Hetrick's 1951 patent filing serves as an example of a "valuable" invention with little economic value to its inventor. Its first commercial use was not implemented until after the patent expired in 1971, at which point

8881-513: The same speed as the vehicle. If the vehicle suddenly stops or crashes, the occupants continue at the same speed the vehicle was going before it stopped. A seat belt applies an opposing force to the driver and passengers to prevent them from falling out or making contact with the interior of the car (especially preventing contact with, or going through, the windshield ). Seat belts are considered primary restraint systems (PRSs), because of their vital role in occupant safety. An analysis conducted in

8988-469: The seat and out from under the belt, in a frontal collision. In the mid-1970s, three-point belt systems such as Chrysler's "Uni-Belt" began to supplant the separate lap and shoulder belts in American-made cars, though such three-point belts had already been supplied in European vehicles such as Volvo, Mercedes-Benz , and Saab for some years. A three-point belt is a Y-shaped arrangement, similar to

9095-481: The separate lap and sash belts, but unified. Like the separate lap-and-sash belt, in a collision, the three-point belt spreads out the energy of the moving body over the chest, pelvis, and shoulders. Volvo introduced the first production three-point belt in 1959. The first car with a three-point belt was a Volvo PV 544 that was delivered to a dealer in Kristianstad on August 13, 1959. The first car model to have

9202-542: The side-torso airbag and the side-curtain airbag. More recently, center airbags are becoming more common in the European market. Most vehicles equipped with side-curtain airbags also include side-torso airbags. However, some, such as the Chevrolet Cobalt , 2007–09 model Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra , and 2009–12 Dodge Ram do not feature the side-torso airbag. From around 2000, side-impact airbags became commonplace on even low- to mid-range vehicles, such as

9309-525: The smaller-engined versions of the Ford Fiesta and Peugeot 206 , and curtain airbags were also becoming regular features on mass-market cars. The Toyota Avensis , launched in 2003, was the first mass-market car to be sold in Europe with nine airbags. Side-impact airbags or side-torso airbags are a category of airbags usually located in the seat or door panel, and inflate between the seat occupant and

9416-529: The standard in commercial airliners. The lift-lever style of commercial aircraft buckles allows for the seatbelt to be easily clasped and unclasped, accessible quickly in case of an emergency where a passenger must evacuate, and fulfills the minimum safety requirements provided by the FAA while remaining low-cost to produce. Furthermore, in case of any collision, a passenger in economy class has only around 9 inches for their head to travel forward, meaning restraining

9523-472: The terminology, the aviation safety community uses the terms "active" and "passive" in the opposite sense from the automotive industry. The airbag "for the covering of aeroplane and other vehicle parts" traces its origins to a United States patent, submitted in 1919 by two dentists from Birmingham , Arthur Parrott and Harold Round. The patent was approved in 1920. Air-filled bladders were in use as early as 1951. The airbag specifically for automobile use

9630-402: The thread density. Modern seatbelt weaves also feature snag-proof selvedges reinforced with strong polyester threads to prevent the wear and tear, while remaining flexible. The weave features about 300 warp threads for every 46mm wide webbing, leading to around 150 ends per inch of webbing. Accident investigators often examine the webbing of a seatbelt to determine if an occupant of a vehicle

9737-476: The three-point seat belt as a standard item was the 1959 Volvo 122 , first outfitted with a two-point belt at initial delivery in 1958, replaced with the three-point seat belt the following year. The three-point belt was developed by Nils Bohlin , who had earlier also worked on ejection seats at Saab . Volvo then made the new seat belt design patent open in the interest of safety and made it available to other car manufacturers for free. The Belt-in-Seat (BIS)

9844-495: The torso and head is relatively unnecessary as the head has little room to accelerate before collision. A "sash" or shoulder harness is a strap that goes diagonally over the vehicle occupant's outboard shoulder and is buckled inboard of their lap. The shoulder harness may attach to the lap belt tongue, or it may have a tongue and buckle completely separate from those of the lap belt. Shoulder harnesses of this separate or semi-separate type were installed in conjunction with lap belts in

9951-440: The vehicle's occupants and a steering wheel, instrument panel, body pillar , headliner, and windshield . Modern vehicles may contain up to ten airbag modules in various configurations, including driver, passenger, side-curtain, seat-mounted, door-mounted, B and C-pillar mounted side-impact, knee bolster, inflatable seat belt, and pedestrian airbag modules. During a crash, the vehicle's crash sensors provide crucial information to

10058-409: The vehicle. In the absence of rapid deceleration or rollover, the reel is unlocked and the belt strap may be pulled from the reel against the spring tension of the reel. The vehicle occupant can move around with relative freedom while the spring tension of the reel keeps the belt taut against the occupant. When the pendulum swings away from its normal plumb position due to sudden deceleration or rollover,

10165-527: The whole speed scale, whereas none of the belted occupants was fatally injured at accident speeds below 60 mph. No belted occupant was fatally injured if the passenger compartment remained intact. Bohlin was granted U.S. patent 3,043,625 for the device. Subsequently, in 1966, Congress passed the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act , requiring all automobiles to comply with certain safety standards. The first compulsory seat belt law

10272-428: The world's first door-mounted, side-curtain airbags that deployed upwards. Curtain airbags have been said to reduce brain injury or fatalities by up to 45% in a side impact with an SUV. These airbags come in various forms (e.g., tubular, curtain, door-mounted) depending on the needs of the application. Many recent SUVs and MPVs have a long inflatable curtain airbag that protects all rows of seats. In many vehicles,

10379-523: Was a continuation of an earlier patent application that Sheren had filed on September 22, 1952. The first modern three-point seat belt (the so-called CIR-Griswold restraint ) commonly used in consumer vehicles was patented in 1955 U.S. patent 2,710,649 by the Americans Roger W. Griswold and Hugh DeHaven . Saab introduced seat belts as standard equipment in 1958. After the Saab GT 750

10486-553: Was available. The MTREC design would filter down to the 1993 Honda Today kei car. The Beat was the first kei car to feature disc brakes on all four wheels. The Beat was part of a wave of kei car-sized sports cars in the early 1990s; its competitors included the Suzuki Cappuccino and Mazda's Autozam AZ-1 . Together they anticipated the arrival of the Smart Roadster over a decade later, while Japan would not see

10593-452: Was granted a patent on side-impact airbags, and they were first offered as an option in 1994 on the 1995 Volvo 850 , and as standard equipment on all Volvo cars made after 1995. In 1997, Saab introduced the first combined head and torso airbags with the launch of the Saab 9-5 . Some cars, such as the 2010 Volkswagen Polo Mk.5 have combined head- and torso-side airbags. These are fitted in

10700-535: Was introduced at the New York Motor Show in 1958 with safety belts fitted as standard, the practice became commonplace. Vattenfall , the Swedish national electric utility, did a study of all fatal, on-the-job accidents among their employees. The study revealed that the majority of fatalities occurred while the employees were on the road on company business. In response, two Vattenfall safety engineers, Bengt Odelgard and Per-Olof Weman, started to develop

10807-485: Was later suspected to have been caused by the airbag. In 1974, GM made its ACRS system (which consisted of a padded lower dashboard and a passenger-side air bag) available as a regular production option (RPO code AR3) in full-sized Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile models. The GM cars from the 1970s equipped with ACRS had a driver-side airbag, and a driver-side knee restraint. The passenger-side airbag protected both front passengers, and unlike most modern systems, integrated

10914-474: Was put in place in 1970, in the state of Victoria , Australia , requiring their use by drivers and front-seat passengers. This legislation was enacted after trialing Hemco seat belts, designed by Desmond Hemphill (1926–2001), in the front seats of police vehicles, lowering the incidence of officer injury and death. Mandatory seat belt laws in the United States began to be introduced in the 1980s and faced opposition, with some consumers going to court to challenge

11021-451: Was replaced by 100% polyester due to its better UV resistance, lower extensibility and higher stiffness. Nylon was also prone to stretching much more than polyester, and was prone to wear and tear, with tiny abrasions drastically reducing tensile strength causing a lack of reliability in one of the most important safety measures in a vehicle. Seat belts are commonly 46 or 48 mm wide with a 2/2 herringbone twill weaving pattern to maximize

11128-438: Was strong lobbying against the passive restraint requirement by the auto industry. Adams was criticized by Ralph Nader , who said that the 1983 deadline was too late. The Volkswagen Rabbit also had automatic seat belts, and VW said that by early 1978, 90,000 cars had sold with them. General Motors introduced a three-point non-motorized passive belt system in 1980 to comply with the passive restraint requirement. However, it

11235-473: Was used as an active lap-shoulder belt because of unlatching the belt to exit the vehicle. Despite this common practice, field studies of belt use still showed an increase in wearing rates with this door-mounted system. General Motors began offering automatic seat belts on the Chevrolet Chevette . However, the company reported disappointing sales because of this feature. For the 1981 model year,

11342-538: Was used in the Kia Sportage SUV and has been standard equipment since then. The airbag is located beneath the steering wheel. The Toyota Caldina introduced the first driver-side SRS knee airbag on the Japanese market in 2002. Toyota Avensis became the first vehicle sold in Europe equipped with a driver's knee airbag. The EuroNCAP reported on the 2003 Avensis, "There has been much effort to protect

11449-500: Was wearing their seatbelt during a collision. The material of the webbing may contain traces of the occupant's clothing. Certain materials such as nylons may become permanently affixed or melted onto the fabric as a result of heat produced by friction, whereas fiber based clothing leaves no remains on modern webbing. A two-point belt attaches at its two endpoints. A simple strap was first used March 12, 1910, by pilot Benjamin Foulois ,

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