What Are Automatic Seatbelts and Why Did They Go Away?

When seatbelts first came out, they weren’t thought “fashionable,” and most customers asked that they be removed before purchase. In response, auto manufacturers equipped cars with new automatic seatbelts in the late 1980s. But how did they work and why didn’t they catch on?

Learn how politics, mechanics, and emerging safety technology led to the rise and fall of automatic seatbelts.