Ford Debuts Rear Inflatable Seat Belts

Ford has just announced the industry's first-ever production inflatable seat belts, which are some sort of a combination between traditional seat belts and airbags. Basically, they are meant to provide increased protection for rear-seat occupants, including children and other passengers more vulnerable to head, chest and neck injuries.

“Ford’s rear inflatable seat belt technology will enhance safety for rear-seat passengers of all ages, especially for young children who are more vulnerable in crashes,” said Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president of Sustainability, Environmental and Safety Engineering. “This is another unique family technology that builds on our safety leadership, including the most top safety ratings of any automaker.”

The newly-designed technology is designed to deploy over a passenger's torso and shoulder in approximately 40 milliseconds in the event of a crash, according to official data provided by Ford.

“Ford is pioneering inflatable seat belt technology to help enhance crash safety protection, while encouraging more people to buckle up with a more comfortable belt,” said Paul Mascarenas, Ford vice president, Engineering, Global Product Development.

Just like any traditional airbag, the new technology deploys once the sensors around the car determine the severity of a collision. Each belt is inflated with cold compressed gas, specially designed to flow through a buckle from a cylinder housed below the seat.

“It’s a very simple and logical system, but it required extensive trial and error and testing over several years to prove out the technology and ensure precise reliable performance in a crash situation,” said Srini Sundararajan, safety technical leader for Ford research and advance engineering.