What Is That Little Button On Your Car's Seat Belt For?

The seat belt in your car is there to keep the driver and passengers safe from death or serious injury in the event of an auto incident. It also comes with an interesting design choice that's as functional as it is peculiar: the seat belt button. 

Have you ever been in a car and reached for the seat belt, only to find it tangled up, hard to pull, or hanging to the floor? Designed for convenience, safety, and functionality, the buttons found on seat belts (like the image above), have come to be called "seat belt stop buttons." Sometimes there's one, sometimes two, but the stop button on a seat belt helps to keep the seat belt in the right place so it's easier for you to reach it and buckle in every time you get behind the wheel of the car. 

These days, automakers are finding ways to reinvent the seat belt, like Volvo's customizable multi-adaptive seat belt that reacts to the severity of an auto incident. But until these innovations as standard, we can find some peace of mind with the stop button.

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As mentioned, the stop button has one main function, and it's actually quite useful. It acts as a stopping point on the belt to keep the latch plate — the component of the seat belt that locks into the buckle — from going too far back when it retracts. 

The three-point seat belt we have today was invented in 1959, and it's pretty easy to operate. You pull its latch plate and place it in the buckle, and it stays put until you press the release button. Once pressed, the seat belt slides back into place, housed in a locking mechanism known as the retractor. This mechanism also prevents the seat belt from being pulled during a crash, a feature designed to keep you in your seat and safe. Alas, until we get futuristic seat belts like the electronic seat belt at MotorWeek 1985, we have to fasten them manually.

And if you ever notice the stop button is missing, there's no need to worry. They're easy to replace and can be installed with simple tools. You can find stop buttons like this Y-Axis set easily on Amazon.