Inertial Seatbelt Release

Claims have been made that many production seatbelt buckles unlatch inertially during collisions. These claims are based on “parlor tricks” in which the back of the buckle is slapped, causing inertial release. Investigations of the potential for such inertial release in real-world collisions have consistently concluded that it is not a safety concern. Engineering analyses indicate that loadings experienced by buckles in real-world collisions are substantially different from the loadings which cause buckles to open in “parlor tricks.”