Buckle Up

November 15th, 2024 Newsletter Archives

It’s taken a depressingly long time for human beings to consider buckling seat belts to be a standard part of every drive. But it isn’t for lack of trying.

The concept of belting in vehicle operators and passengers to protect them from bumps and crashes dates back to the mid-19^th century, when the English inventor George Cayley concocted a type of restraint to prevent people from falling out of his monoplane glider. The car seat belt was patented a few decades later, in 1885, by Edward Claghorn, who intended it to keep taxi passengers safe. But it wasn’t until 1968 that the U.S. mandated seat belts for front-seat passengers; three-point systems including a shoulder belt became the standard in 1973.

General Motors has been taking steps to encourage drivers and passengers to buckle up on every trip.

“Buckle to Drive” is a feature standard on most 2024 and 2025 GM models. When activated, this feature can prevent the driver from shifting out of Park for 20 seconds or until their seat belt is buckled; on many models, if a front-seat passenger is present, their belt must also be buckled before the driver can shift out of Park.

“The seat belt is the most essential safety feature that we have,” says Regina Carto, vice president, Global Product Safety, Systems and Certification at General Motors. “It can be the difference between life and death. It’s just a click, but it can save your life.”

– Eric J. Savitz, editor-in-chief, GM News