Designing for safety during pregnancy through a system for automotive engineers

Pregnant women in the UK are legally required to wear seatbelts both as drivers and passengers. This paper considers fitting the seat belt correctly around the pregnant woman’s altered body and explores the ways of providing data to automotive engineers. The paper presents the difficulties experienced during pregnancy resulting from women’s altered shape and size. Accommodation of pregnant occupant anthropometry is key to improving seat belt use and positioning.An anthropometry website is presented with the aim of enhancing pregnant women’s quality of life through an improved seat belt design. The website has been designed to suit the needs of automotive designers and engineers to encourage them to consider pregnant occupant protection