Abstract: A passive diagonal safety belt is anchored in a vehicle by an automatic roller at the edge of one side door opening and also on the seat in the middle of the vehicle. The safety belt runs over a deflection element, which is arranged at the door post, so that the height can be adjusted in the shoulder region. A transport cable is arranged along the upper edge of the side door opening and is driven when the side door is opened and shut. The cable is connected with the diagonal belt via a carrier which is slidably attached to the belt. So that the passive diagonal safety belt neither contacts the heads of nor hinders the movements of the occupants of the vehicle, the diagonal belt is moved obliquely in a forward and upward direction by the cable. The cable passes over a deflection device when automatically released from the vehicle occupants and is finally placed in a guide along the upper side door opening when a gripper on the transport cable raises the deflection element.