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After pioneering the three-point seatbelt, Volvo is reinventing the automotive safety technology we interact with the most yet again. The automaker announced today that it will soon install seatbelts that work more effectively for more people in its vehicles.
Dubbed the multi-adaptive safety belt, the technology will use sensors from the seat and around its vehicles to more effectively restrain occupants in the event of a crash. Not only will the vehicle determine the severity of an impending impact, it will also be able to determine more about a given occupant.
Volvo explains that the system will be able to determine if there is a large occupant involved in a serious crash. In that case, a higher belt load setting (i.e. how tightly it pulls the occupant to the seat) will be used to protect the occupant’s head. However, in the event of a lighter crash with a smaller occupant, the vehicle will lower the belt load setting to reduce the risk of rib fractures.
While it’s not unheard of for a modern seatbelt to actively manage its load settings, current belts have just three settings. Volvo’s new system increases that number to 11, allowing it to optimize safety in more scenarios. On top of occupant size and crash severity, the automaker claims that its new seatbelts can react to the direction and speed of a crash as well as the occupant’s posture.
The multi-adaptive safety belt also addresses a blind spot that Volvo, among others, have identified in recent years. Until recently, crash test dummies have been built to resemble the average male body. This has real impacts on the safety of women and children in an accident.
Some crash testing agencies, such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), have attempted to remedy this shortfall by introducing new tests that better test safety for children in the back seats of vehicles. Volvo, meanwhile, says that its new seatbelt technology will keep a larger number of people with a wider variety of body shapes safe in the event of a crash.
The multi-adaptive safety belt will make its debut in the upcoming 2026 EX60.
