A new multi-adaptive safety belt, a world-first technology aimed to further enhance safety for everyone in real-world situations, will debut in the upcoming fully electric Volvo EX60 in 2026, writes Trish Whelan. It marks a major upgrade to the modern three-point safety belt, a Volvo invention introduced in 1959, estimated to have saved over a million lives.
The new safety belt is designed to better protect people by adapting to traffic variations and the person wearing it (their height, weight body shape and seating position), thanks to real-time data from the car’s advanced sensors.
In less than a blink of an eye, the car’s system analyses the unique characteristics of a crash - such as direction, speed, and passenger posture - and shares that information with the safety belt. Based on this data, the system selects the most appropriate setting.
This means a larger occupant in a serious crash will receive a higher belt load setting to help reduce the risk of head injury while a smaller occupant in a milder crash will receive a lower belt load setting to reduce the risk of rib fractures.
This is achieved by managing the force applied to the occupants in the event of an accident.
