Three-Point Seat Belt

Nils Bohlin, Volvo, Sweden, patent 3,043,625 of 1962. The Y-shaped belt Volvo gave away to save everyone.

Overview

Volvo's chief engineer Bohlin designed the three-point belt so a torso and pelvis share the load, filing in 1959. Volvo made the design free to all automakers immediately, an open patent before the term existed. Sweden mandated belts in 1975, the US states followed, and the belt is credited with saving over a million lives. Bohlin received letters from survivors for decades. Patent 3,043,625 is the moral standard of safety IP: held, then handed over.