What is a Lap Belt?

Superior safety levels have become one of the highest priorities that car manufacturer’s engineering and design teams pursue, with perfection in mind. Today, there are many crash safety tests that are performed by reputable testing bodies which reveal just how safe a new car is. Some of the crash testing authorities look very closely at what level of occupant injury occurs when a new car is tested in a standard crash test. One of the very essential safety items that protects and secures an occupant in the event of a crash is the seat belt. Seat belt design and function is paramount to the health and wellbeing of all unfortunate crash victims. The performance of a seat belt can mean the difference between life, death, or serious injury for crash victims. The lap belt design incorporates a seat belt that goes over the user’s thighs only. In the event of a crash, the upper body of the lapbelt user is very vulnerable to injury when the forces acting on the upper body mass proceed unchecked. Results have proven that the incidence of injury is far less severe when a three-pointer seatbelt replaces the lap seat belt in crash controlled test experiments. The extra security of the three-pointer seat belt is due to better design. In crash test results, the added restraint the three-pointer gives to on an occupant’s upper body mass has meant that the lap belt design is becoming a “design of the past”. Better passive safety-design is what all vehicle occupants demand, and should be what all new car manufacturers should be always seeking to improve.We hope that helps answer the question ‘What is What is a Lap Belt?’!

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