Nowadays, we consider wearing a seat belt in both the front and the back as a matter of course. Things were different in the 1950s, because it was only then that car manufacturers started to think about the implementation of this safety feature. In addition, the seat belt in the back came up much later.
Many think that Volvo is the first car manufacturer to introduce the seat belt in its cars, but that only applies to the three-point seat belt. The Americans had been with the two-point belt before. This is mainly due to the work of neurologist C. Hunter Shelden, who was concerned about the number of head injuries from car accidents he saw in his work. He advocated the idea of ​​retractable seat belts in cars to reduce injuries. The belt in itself was not a new idea, by the way. In the mid-19th century, the Englishman George Cayley had already invented the belt for use in his glider.
The rear seat belts as part of the Ford Lifeguard package. Source: https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/364150/#slide=gs-381595
The first automaker to offer rear seat belts was Ford in 1956. Two-point seat belts were optionally included in the Lifeguard package, which was available on the Fairlane, among others. Reportedly, only 2 percent of customers chose the option. The Americans did not feel like wearing a seat belt, a pattern of behavior to which the later appeared automatic seat belt owes its right to exist. Although Ford offered rear seat belts as early as 1956, it took much longer to see the need for them. Volvo was the first European manufacturer to offer the three-point seat belt on the PV544 in 1959. At that time, Volvo already fitted mounting points for seat belts in the rear. Ultimately, it took until 1967 before Volvo actually started to deliver them. Later on, Volvo also introduced a three-point belt for the center rear seat on the 850.
Seat belt requirement
In the Netherlands it was legally required from 1 June 1975 to wear seat belts in the front seat, but the seat belt requirement for rear passengers only applies since 1 April 1992. All cars built from 1 January 1990 must have seat belts for all seats, for cars that are between January 1, 1971 and January 1, 1990, they only need seat belts in the front. If your car dates from before January 1, 1971, seat belts are not mandatory at all. A similar pattern was observed in other countries. In England, for example, it was compulsory from 1990 to also wear seat belts in the rear, the seat belt requirement in the front had been in effect since 1983.
Why then did it take so long to introduce mandatory seat belts for rear passengers? That is not entirely clear, but it was presumed that the rear passengers would be safe in the event of an accident because they would then be stopped by the front seats. Wrongly, because someone sitting in the back can still end up ugly and is also a danger to the passengers in the front. It was also the case that wearing a seat belt was generally considered unpleasant. The belts had been around since the 1950s, but were not really popular with the general public. Only after extensive evidence that wearing a seat belt in an accident could mean the difference between life and death did policymakers decide. Today, the fine for driving without a seat belt in our country is € 140. This amount also applies to rear passengers. Are they over 12 years old? Then they will be fined separately.