Decoding the Design of In-Flight Seat Belts - Atlas Obscura

Why we buckle up differently in cars and planes.

"What is the deal with this seat belt? It is not like other seat belts. It is a lap belt only, in two pieces, secured by an industrial-feeling flip-flop buckle that sits directly in the center of the lap. Car seat belts are not like this. Even race car seat belts are not like this. In fact no other modern seat belt is like this. This seemed like a reasonable and even innocuous subject to investigate...

Why we buckle up differently in cars and planes.

"What is the deal with this seat belt? It is not like other seat belts. It is a lap belt only, in two pieces, secured by an industrial-feeling flip-flop buckle that sits directly in the center of the lap. Car seat belts are not like this. Even race car seat belts are not like this. In fact no other modern seat belt is like this. This seemed like a reasonable and even innocuous subject to investigate...