The 2015 Ford Transit is redefining the full-size van in America not only in terms of versatility but also in regards to safety. With the new Transit van rolling off the assembly line and heading to dealers, Ford is showing off its latest safety innovation – a five-row side curtain airbag.
Designed specifically for the 15-passenger Transit, Ford says that this is the industry’s first and only airbag of this type. Side curtain airbags are standard on all 2015 Ford Transit vans (including three wheelbase lengths and three possible roof heights), but the extended-length, 15-passenger Transit Wagon models provided the biggest challenge for side-impact and rollover protection.
As with any side-curtain airbag, the one used in the 2015 Ford Transit must be able to deploy in one piece, remain inflated for a short time and, of course, provide maximum head and side protection for outboard occupants. Ford worked with its airbag supplier, TRW, to develop this massive airbag. Despite the fact that the Transit is a European-style van, this new side airbag is limited to models sold in the U.S. and Canada.
When inflated, the airbags are nearly 15-feet long, three-feet tall and it has a volume of 120 liters (or 4.2 cubic feet), which is only slightly smaller than the trunk space of the Mazda MX-5 Miata. For comparison, Ford says that the same airbag in the Ford Fusion is 6.8-feet long, two-feet tall and holds a volume of just 42 liters (or 1.4 cubic feet). Aside from its sheer size, the side-curtain airbag developed for the 2015 Transit uses a pair of inflators, which ensures that all five rows of passengers get the necessary side-impact protection… all in just a fraction of a second.
Ford released images showing a cutaway of the inflated airbag attached to a piece of the Transit’s body, but there’s also a video posted below showing exactly how the airbag works as well as how they are installed in the vans at the factory.
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