Scientific and Engineering Inventions Save Lives
October 15, 2013
The Science of Safety: How seat belts and Kevlar arrived.
This is Science in the News, in VOA Special English. I’m June Simms. Today Shirley Griffith and Bob Doughty tell about two recent inventions that have helped to save lives. We will also tell about the people who developed them.
History of Seat Belts
Most cars have seat belts as part of their equipment. Seat belts protect drivers and passengers in case of accident. They also reduce the effect of a crash on the body. Safety experts estimate that the restraining devices save thousands of lives a year in the United States alone. Worldwide, some experts, say the devices have protected up to a million people.
The first seat belt was said to have been created in the 1800s by George Cayley of England. He is remembered for many inventions, especially for early “flying machines.”
The United States first recognized the invention of an automobile seat belt in 1849. The government gave a patent to Edward J. Claghorn of New York City so that others would not copy his invention. Claghorn called the device a Safety-Belt. It was said to include hooks and other attachments for securing the person to a fixed object.
Modern Seat Belt Developed in Sweden
Other inventors followed with different versions of the seat belt. But more than 100 years passed before the current, widely used seat belt was developed. It resulted from the work of a Swedish engineer, Nils Bohlin. His three-point, lap and shoulder seat belt first appeared on cars in Europe 50 years ago.
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