God - and Seat Belts

Weird title, I agree.  Weird article. I probably won’t argue that either.

Automobile Seat belts
• Standard vehicle equipment 1958
• Mandatory vehicle equipment 1968
• Mandatory use (front seat) 1983
• Seat belt reminders – 1974 Law prohibits NHTSA from requiring any seat belt reminder system from being more insistent than an 8 second warning light and buzzer. (Although not required, many manufacturers have enhanced this significantly.)

The evolution of seat belts and their associated alarms is interesting.

• The two-point lap belt: I am certain these became buried in seat cushions for the life of the vehicle since rarely did anyone use them.
• The fully automatic-wrap-around-you-when-the-door-closes 3-point system:  Many of us got tangled up more than once.  
• The attempted no-buckle-no-start system in the mid-70’s (which eventually lead to the 1974 law mentioned above) 
• The 3-point belt/air-bag systems that's common today.
• And something relatively new, discussions regarding mandatory back seat use