Over the last decades, vehicle safety never ceased to increase in importance, with practical improvements constantly being done to make the millions of cars in daily traffic a safe “hub” for drivers and passengers. Crash structures are made to absorb energy and the “safety cell” helps keep the passenger compartment intact. Seat belts and airbags mitigate injury risks by preventing the occupant to hit the vehicle interior or windshield, or to be thrown out of the vehicle.

The vehicles we drive today are truly designed and tested to meet a variety of safety standards. Still, it is also up to us, drivers, and passengers to make right use of the safety items which are fitted into a vehicle. Are we making the most of the safety tools at hand?

Let’s consider seatbelts for a moment. Wearing the seatbelt is still considered the most important factor in preventing serious or fatal occupant injuries in a vehicle crash. Seat belts have gone a long way since they were first introduced in 1959 as a standard equipment by Volvo. Initially just a rigid belt, many features have been added in the meantime to improve their wearing comfort as well as their safety performance. Widely unknown to the public, seat belt pretensioners and belt load limiters are key elements to further optimize the safety potential.

The pretensioner removes belt slack and allows for a belt interaction with the occupant to absorb energy already in an early phase of the crash. Belt safety is further supported by the load limiter, allowing for a controlled forward displacement of the occupant while limiting the force on the ribcage. A “rigid” seat belt has a higher risk of generating forces that could break the ribs, leading to potentially life-threatening injuries: The load limiters’ aim is to prevent this from happening.

NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) organizations worldwide assess vehicle safety, and their occupant safety requirements have managed to push the fitment of such advanced seat belt systems in vehicles – first for the front seats. By adding adult dummies on the rear seat in crash tests, Euro NCAP paved the way for these safety features to become available for all vehicle occupants. Pretensioners and load limiters are nowadays also installed on the rear seats of almost all new car models entering the European market.

However, even though your car may have the best seat belt system in the world, if you do not buckle up, you are putting yourself at high risks (one can be killed in a crash at speeds as low as 30 km/h)! A simple but effective function started to forge into the automotive world about 25 years ago: the Seat Belt Reminder (SBR).

Advanced SBR systems trigger an audio-visual signal, to remind the unbelted vehicle occupant to put their seat belt. On passenger seats, an occupant detection sensor checks whether the seat is occupied, and if the corresponding seat belt is not buckled, the reminder is activated. This SBR function has recently become a legal requirement for front row seats in many parts of the world.

In addition, almost every worldwide NCAP gives incentives if the same function is installed for the rear seats. Their key motivation: Rear seat passengers deserve the same level of protection as front seat occupants. Knowing that many people who typically buckle up on the front seats don’t do so when seated in the rear, it is even more important to have efficient SBR systems in the back of the car.

Unbelted rear occupants are not only exposed to serious hazard themselves. They are also a life-threatening danger for front seat occupants, who are twice as likely to be fatally injured if an adult occupant sitting behind them does not have the seat belt on.

Modern seat belt systems and advanced SBRs are a great combination to maximize the safety potential of the vehicle’s restraint system for any occupant. They have already saved many lives and will continue to do so.

At IEE, we are proud to continue to be a part of this evolving vehicle safety journey. Our SBR occupant detection sensors may be but a small, but highly relevant component in the overall function. Next time you drive, make sure your front and rear seat passengers are belted – unless the vehicle’s SBR system may have already taken care of it. Remember that the belt on the rear seat can also help save your life as a driver/ front seat occupant, not to mention that of your precious crew! Onward and upward.

Contributor: Thierry Mousel

Co-author: Silvia Martin

Press release, 23rd March 2021

On Friday, 18th March 2021, Mr. Michel Witte, CEO and President at IEE officially stepped down from his position and left the task to steer the company to Mr. Paul Schockmel, former Vice President Strategy, Innovation and Marketing.

As the founder of the company, Mr. Witte has been an instrumental figure in IEE’s history, driving the company from a small Luxembourgish start-up to a global business success, making it a reputed, essential player in the automotive sensing industry. Over the past 30 years, IEE pioneered occupant detection, capacitive sensing in vehicle interior with products such as BodySense and Hands Off Detection (HOD), witnessed a large scale industrialization of printed electronics, and released VitaSense Child Presence Detection as another world premiere, among others, under his leadership.

The new CEO is Mr. Paul Schockmel, who will also exercise the functions of Director of the Board, and Member of the Executive Committee of the IEE Group.

Since joining IEE S.A. in 1995 as a Sales Engineer, Mr. Schockmel has held many key positions. Paul Schockmel also acted as the CEO of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), developing a strong international network throughout the automotive industry. He also founded the Luxembourgish Association of Automotive Suppliers (ILEA) and co-founded the Luxembourg Automotive Components cluster.

“We welcome Mr. Schockmel in his new position and responsibility, and we will do everything necessary to support him in achieving his goals for the company,” says Sheng Wang, Chairman of the Board of Directors at IEE. “We trust that Mr. Schockmel has all the abilities to successfully lead the management team and the entire IEE staff throughout current and upcoming market challenges, and to make the company fit for the future.”

The entire staff at IEE is grateful to Mr. Michel Witte for his commitment and outstanding lifetime achievements within the company and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors. As a sign of respect and recognition, IEE’s Shareholders and the Board gave Mr. Witte the title of Honorary President of the IEE Group.

All IEE embraces the decision to have Mr. Schockmel at the head of the company and is looking forward to more exciting opportunities and adventures ahead under his guidance.

Ever since the mandatory implementation of the seat belts in cars in the mid-1960s, the device has been on every auto maker’s radar. As the belt wearing law reinforcements were slowly but surely shifting from addressing front seat passengers only to including rear seat passengers, car makers have been trying to improve the seat belts, making them safer, more comfortable and increasingly intelligent.

However, while its efficacy during accidents has been proven beyond anyone’s doubt throughout the years, not all drivers and passengers are wearing it, despite it being a legal obligation. Unless, that is, they are urged via seat belt reminders in a very insistent way to buckle up.

The role of the seat belt reminder is, of course, to make drivers and passengers adopt a safe behavior once the car is set in motion. Therefore, they are made to release warning signals ranging from visuals with blinking icons or text displays to high acoustic pitches of growing intensity. These “bothersome” reminders are there to motivate vehicle occupants more than any law can to buckle up before they start their journey. Are they effective? Yes! Audio visual seat belt reminders have proven to reduce the number
of unbelted occupants by 80%.

Having pioneered the development and manufacturing of occupant detection sensors for seat belt reminder systems, we at IEE firmly believe it is best to be reminded and to be alive.

Did you know that…

• In the early ‘70s, the U.S. tried to make interlock systems in cars compulsory to promote the use of seat belts. This failed because the car would not start unless all front seat passengers were buckled up. The public reacted against it and the requirement was withdrawn. Only few car brands decided to fit their vehicles with very basic seat belt reminder systems.
• The ‘90s changed that and the seat belt was again in the automotive safety spotlight. The seat belt reminders started to be taken seriously. Some vehicle manufacturers introduced more advanced SBR systems with audio visual signals and warning escalations.
• At IEE, we have been offering front passenger seat sensor mats for seat belt reminder solutions since 1997. In 2014 we produced the first rear seat occupant detection sensors to support advanced SBR for all vehicle occupants.
• In 2002, Euro NCAP began to grant bonus points to cars with built-in seat belt reminders, helping to improve the vehicle’s safety star rating. The first five-star ratings were enabled via the SBR points. Since then, SBR incentives have played a significant role in the Euro NCAP ratings and strongly influenced the vehicle manufacturer’s SBR installation rates.
• In 2009, the seat belt reminder becomes mandatory for the driver seat in the EU for new passenger cars.

Towards a 100% seat belt use across the EU

One can only hope for this, but more efforts are being deployed to reach this target and save more lives. An annual seat belt campaign is rolled out in the EU countries every year in March intended to educate and enforce good practice. Still, where education fails, technology and legislation together can help.  

1st September 2019 marks a new era, as the seat belt reminders have now become mandatory for every seat in new cars.

Since September 1st, 2019, EU legislation requires advanced SBR systems on the front seats of newly introduced vehicle models of any vehicle category. A simpler SBR variant is also required on the rear seats of passenger cars. From September 1st, 2021 onwards, these requirements will apply to all newly produced vehicles in the EU market.

Watch this video from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) below for further background information on the relevance of seat belt reminders. From us at IEE, take this piece of advice on board: buckle up every single day and for every single trip you make, even if it is a very short one. Stay safe behind the wheel.