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When Volvo CEO Gunnar Engelau lost a relative in a car crash, he recruited Bohlin to boost safety.

unused except by race car drivers

late 1950s, only two-point lap belts were available

he knew the limitations of lap belts

focused on combating the harsh deceleration forces of crashes.

Within a year

widely-used life-saver

industry's most effective

He died in 2002 at the age of 82.

Members of the Hall of Fame selection committee

Nils Bohlin's seat belt saves lives.

he was in charge of the development of ejection seats

ired as a safety engineer for AB Volvo in Gothenburg, Sweden.

. Safety belts were in use at the time, but the most prevalent design used a single strap with a buckle over the stomach. This design risked injury to body organs in high-speed crashes.

Bohlin aimed to find an alternative design that would not only protect both the upper and lower body, but would also be comfortable and simple to use.

The design held both the upper and lower body in place, and was simple enough that the driver could buckle up with one hand.

In 1958, Bohlin was h

by 1963 all Volvos came equipped with front seat belts, and the company decided to make the design free for use by all car makers.

In 1959, Volvo became the first auto maker to introduce Bohlin’s three-point safety belt design.

The report claimed that the belt had already saved thousands of lives, reducing the risk of injury or death in car accidents by as much as 75 percent.

It persuaded a number of other national governments to do the same

Since its introduction, the three-point shoulder/lap safety belt has changed very little in its overall design.

As of today, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates the belts reduce the risk of deaths in car crashes by at least 45 percent.

Bohlin retired from Volvo in 1985.

In 1974 Bohlin was awarded The Ralph H. Isbrandt Automotive Safety Engineering Award.

honored in 1979 and in 1985 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Washington, D.C. In 1995, he received a medal from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. In 2002, he was inducted into the (U.S.) National Inventors Hall of Fame. On the day he was to be honored for this achievement, Bohlin died at age 82.