Abstract
The poor acceptance of rear safety belts can be attributed to comfort and convenience factors, as well as the low perceived safety value. Belts with complicated fastening procedures frequently remain unused, while belts that are uncomfortable are soon unfastened. Some belts remain unused because occupants doubt the ability of a belt to be quickly released after an accident. BMW decided to develop a new rear safety belt system that would overcome most of these problems. The result is a belt whose most significant new design characteristic is a reversed shoulder belt geometry.