About

We all know that seat belts have been around for years, but do we know of the actual history behind them and where they originated from?

It turns out that the seat belt was the invention of an English engineer in the mid nineteenth century, named George Cayley. However, a man named Edward J. Claghorn of New York was the one to acquire the first patent for a safety belt–dating to February 10, 1885. The patent granted to Claghorn was for the safety of painters, firemen, tourists, etc. when being raised or lowered. The seat belt was designed to be utilized by a person, with hooks and other attachments provided, to anchor them to a fixed object.

In the late 1940’s, a man named Dr. C. Hunter Shelden opened a neurological practice in California. Soon after, he greatly contributed to the auto industry by proposing the concept of retractable seat belts. Aside from retractable seat belts he also suggested recessed steering wheels, roll bars, reinforced roofs, passive restraints such as airbags, and automatic door locks. Much of what is present on our vehicles today can be credited to Dr. C Hunter Sheldon. As a result of his propositions, Congress passed the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966. This law required all vehicles to adhere to specific measures of safety.

Nash and Ford, both American car manufacturers, offered the options of seat belts in the late 1940s to mid 1950s, but the Swedish car manufacturer Saab first initiated the use of seat belts as standard in the year 1958. After Saab was displayed in the New York Motor show of 1958, the usage of seat belts became commonplace.

Since then, seat belts have gone through several updates to become what they are today.

One great misconception that people have about their seat belts, however, is that they can only be used until an accident occurs–whereafter a new seat belt needs to be purchased. What they don’t know is that seat belt repair can be done on their present seat belt to restore it back to factory condition. The company Safety Restore provides this exact service. Their ability to do single stage, dual stage, and even triple stage seat belt repairs sets them apart from other companies. Seat belt repair purchased at Safety Restore also comes out to only a mere fraction of what a dealer would charge for a brand new seat belt. In the end, a refurbished seat belt at Safety Restore works just the same, so why not go with that option?