FORD INTRODUCES INDUSTRY’S FIRST INFLATABLE SEAT BELTS TO ENHANCE REAR SEAT SAFETY
- Ford introduces the auto industry’s first-ever production inflatable seat belts, which are designed to provide additional protection for rear seat occupants, often children and older passengers who can be more vulnerable to head, chest and neck injuries
- Ford’s inflatable rear seat belts debuted on the 2011 Ford Explorer; Ford eventually plans to offer inflatable seat belt technology in vehicles globally
- Ford’s inflatable rear seat belts spread crash forces over five times more area of the body than conventional seat belts; this helps reduce pressure on the chest and helps control head and neck motion for rear seat passengers
- More than 90 percent of Ford research participants indicated that Ford’s inflatable seat belts are similar to or more comfortable than traditional belts, which could help increase the lower rate of rear belt usage
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 26, 2011 – Ford Motor Company has brought to market the world’s first automotive inflatable seat belts, combining attributes of traditional seat belts and airbags to provide an added level of crash safety protection for rear seat occupants.
The advanced restraint system is designed to help reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear seat passengers, often children and older passengers who can be more vulnerable to such injuries.
Ford introduced inflatable rear seat belts on the 2011 Ford Explorer. Over time, Ford plans to offer the technology in vehicles globally.
“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, Environment and Safety Engineering. “This is another unique family technology that builds on our safety leadership, including the most top safety ratings of any automaker.”
Safer and more comfortable
Advances in airbag inflation and seat belt construction methods have enabled Ford and its suppliers to develop inflatable seat belts that are designed to deploy over a vehicle occupant’s torso and shoulder in 40 milliseconds in the event of a crash.
In everyday use, the inflatable belts operate like conventional seat belts and are safe and compatible with infant and children safety car and booster seats. In Ford’s research, more than 90 percent of those who tested the inflatable seat belts found them to be similar to or more comfortable than a conventional belt because they feel padded and softer. That comfort factor could help improve the 61 percent rear belt usage rate in the U.S., which compares to 82 percent usage by front seat passengers, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data.
“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, vice president, Research and Advanced Engineering and chief technical officer.
In the event of a frontal or side crash, the inflatable belt’s increased diameter more effectively holds the occupant in the appropriate seating position, helping to reduce the risk of injury.
Vehicle safety sensors determine the severity of the collision in the blink of an eye and deploy the inflatable belts’ airbags. Each belt’s tubular airbag inflates with cold compressed gas, which flows through a specially designed buckle from a cylinder housed below the seat.
The inflatable belt’s accordion-folded bag breaks through the belt fabric as it fills with air, expanding sideways across the occupant’s body in about the same amount of time it takes a car traveling at highway speed to cover a yard of distance.
The use of cold compressed gas instead of a heat-generating chemical reaction – which is typical of traditional airbag systems – means the inflated belts feel no warmer on the wearer’s body than the ambient temperature. The inflatable belts also fill at a lower pressure and a slower rate than traditional airbags, because the device does not need to close a gap between the belt and the occupant.
“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 Advanced Engineering.
The inflated belt helps distribute crash force energy across five times more of the occupant’s torso than a traditional belt, which expands its range of protection and reduces risk of injury by diffusing crash pressure over a larger area, while providing additional support to the head and neck. After deployment, the belt remains inflated for several seconds before dispersing its air through the pores of the airbag.
Ford’s safety leadership record continues to grow
The inflatable seat belt that debuted on the 2011 Ford Explorer continues Ford’s record of safety innovation. Ford has the most top U.S. safety ratings of any automaker ever. This includes more Top Safety Picks than any other manufacturer in the six years of Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) testing and more NHTSA five-star ratings than any other manufacturer during 30 years of government testing.
Ford was the first automaker to introduce seat belts in 1955 and led the way in making driver and front passenger airbags standard in most vehicles by 1993.
Ford also is pioneering in mainstream vehicles radar-enabled adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support and Blind Spot Information System (BLIS®) with cross-traffic alert. These technologies – introduced in 2009 – help drivers avoid potential dangerous crash situations using radar to detect the relative position of other vehicles and warn the driver with a combination of visual and audio alerts.
Ford’s other recent seat belt and airbag innovations include industry-first Belt-Minder® in 2000, which the U.S. government credited with increasing front belt usage by 5 percent in Ford vehicles. On the 2002 Explorer, Ford launched the industry’s first rollover-activated side curtain airbags – called Safety Canopy – as well as roll stability control technology that goes a step beyond traditional stability control systems by helping measure and prevent side-to-side skidding and dangerous situations that could lead to rollovers.
Ford also introduced on the 2009 Ford F-150 and 2010 Ford Taurus some of the industry’s first pressure-based airbag technologies that help deploy side airbags up to 30 percent faster.
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About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 163,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.