Volvo seatbelt a museum piece

Volvo has donated an original 1961 three-point safety belt and the seat it was attached to, to the museum as part of a larger collection from eight different donors covering 75 years of safety-enhancement work in the car industry.

Volvo created automotive history when the first car fitted as standard with three-point safety belts was delivered on August 13, 1959.  Since then, the Swedish inventor Nils Bohlin's invention has been fitted to millions of cars globally and is recognised with saving millions of lives.

Today, the three-point belt still plays a vital role in helping to reduce the number of injuries and road fatalities, along with airbags, anti-skid brake systems and stronger car bodies with crumple safety zones.  Volvo's participation is the result of long and hard work on the part of Volvo Cars in the US, and it all began with a phone call over two years ago.

"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,'' says Dan Johnston, product communications manager at Volvo Cars of North America.

Acceptance of new items for the museum's collection is preceded by a long and complex process whereby each object's authenticity is thoroughly verified.  The belt that was donated is an original fitting from a 1961 Volvo PV 544, and it is on display with the accompanying seat original seat.

The belt's authenticity was verified all the way to the previous owner and to the factory, which has confirmed that the car was manufactured and delivered with the safety belt fitted.