Four point seat belt system

A vehicle occupant restraint system for a vehicle having a forward end, the vehicle occupant restraint system comprising:

• a seat having a seat back and a seat cushion, said seat back having a front, a top side, a left half, a right half, and a back side;
• a left shoulder belt anchored to a point on said right half of said back side of said seat back for extending over the left shoulder of a seated occupant along said left half of said front of said seat back;
• a right shoulder belt anchored to a point on said left half of said back side of said seat back for extending over the right shoulder of a seated occupant along said right half of said seat back;
• a first lap belt having an anchor end, said first lap belt having an angle from vertical of between about 0° and 32°;
• a second lap belt having an anchor end, said second lap belt having an angle from vertical of between about 0° and 32°,
• whereby a criss-cross configuration is defined by said left shoulder belt and said right shoulder belt on said back side of said seat back and a V-shaped configuration is defined by said left shoulder belt and said right shoulder belt on said front of said seat back.

A vehicle occupant restraint system comprising:

• a seat having a seat back and a seat cushion, said seat back having a front, a top side, a left half and a right half;
• a first shoulder belt having a retractor end, a buckle end and a centerline, said first shoulder belt for extending over the left shoulder of a seated occupant along said left half of said front of said seat back;
• a second shoulder belt having a retractor end, a buckle end and a centerline, said second shoulder belt for extending over the right shoulder of a seated occupant along said right half of said front of said seat back;
• a first shoulder belt anchor being operatively associated with said right half of said seat back, said retractor end of said first shoulder belt being connected to said first shoulder belt anchor;
• a second shoulder belt anchor being operatively associated with said left half of said seat back, said retractor end of said second shoulder belt being connected to said second shoulder belt anchor;
• and
• a buckle and latch assembly to which one or both of said first shoulder belt and said second shoulder belt may be attached, said first shoulder belt and said second shoulder belt defining a V-shaped configuration when said first shoulder belt and said second shoulder belt are attached to said buckle and latch assembly, said shoulder belts having a maximum centerline-to-centerline width of between about 180 mm and about 208 mm at approximately the height of the front edge of the clavicle of a midsized male occupant.