Design and Comfort of Seatbelts

Although most people would probably guess that seatbelts are a modern device, they have actually existed since the late 19th century, although with different purposes. Originally seatbelts were designed for use in carriages. These horsedrawn vehicles suffered from one of the same problems as modern automobiles. During emergencies, passengers tended to be thrown out of the vehicle, leading to serious injury. Thus, the first seatbelts were designed simply to secure the passengers within the horsedrawn carriage.

This was primarily the motivation for the use of seatbelts in early automobiles, too. Although there was not as much danger of accidents as there is now, simply because there were not very many other cars, there continued to be the danger of drivers and passengers being thrown out of the vehicle. One of the major problems creating that risk was the state of the roads on which these early automobiles traveled. These were so rough and in

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eatbelts in all vehicles, even those older than eight years, which is generally not required. The problem is one of the tiniest of design features. In these seatbelts, made by Takata Corp. In Japan, part of a plastic release button evidently deteriorates over time and makes the seatbelt ineffective. Results are that the belts may fail to latch, fail to remain latched, or fail to unlatch. The plastic release button apparently functions well for several years, but deteriorates gradually due to exposure to ultraviolet light. As a consequence, the plastic becomes brittle and breaks. This, then, seems to create tiny pieces of debris which then jam the entire latching and release mechanism on the seatbelt, making it questionable for appropriate operation. In other words, it is not the design of the seatbelt itself that is at fault, but the materials utilized within the design that gradually created the problem. Interestingly enough, it is the automakers who are held responsible for the problem and required to replace the belts. In addition, the government has required the automakers to extend lifetime warranties on all front seatbelt components. This would cover the deteriorating plastic release button and any other materi
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Approximate Word count = 2085
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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