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2005 Escape Safety

SAFETY: 2005 FORD ESCAPE SETS A NEW STANDARD

• Expected to be first in class to meet revised Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
• New standard Personal Safety System™
• Optional Safety Canopy™ rollover protection system – a segment exclusive
• Structural reinforcements for offset frontal crashes

MIAMI, Nov. 7, 2003 – The redesigned Escape has standard anti-lock brakes, a segment-exclusive Safety Canopy™ rollover curtain air bag system and the Personal Safety System™ with passenger weight-sensing technology. It is expected to be the first vehicle in its class to meet the newly amended Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 for occupant crash safety.

Topping the list of new safety and security features are:

• The standard Personal Safety System, a comprehensive restraint suite for frontal impacts that is designed to adjust to provide the best protection in a variety of crashes
• The available Safety Canopy, a Ford Motor Company exclusive side air curtain rollover protection system
• Occupant classification sensing for the front passenger air bag
• Structural reinforcements for offset frontal impacts
• Three-point safety belts and head restraints at all seating positions

In 2005, Escape becomes the next in a line of Ford Motor Company vehicles to come standard with the Personal Safety System, one of the industry’s most comprehensive suite of safety technologies. The system is designed to provide increased protection in many types of frontal crashes by analyzing crash factors and determining the proper response in milliseconds.

The system uses dual-stage driver and front-passenger air bags capable of deploying at full or partial power. In less severe frontal crashes, air bags inflate with reduced force – or not at all – helping reduce the risk of injury due to the inflation of the air bag.

The system’s pretensioners tighten the front safety belts in the first moments of a crash, and energy management retractors gradually slacken the safety belt, if necessary, to help reduce the force of the belt on the occupant’s chest. A vehicle occupant’s best line of defense in crashes remains the safety belt.

Occupant Classification Sensing builds on the strength of the Personal Safety System to tailor deployment of the front passenger air bag. If the passenger seat sensor detects no weight on the seat – or very little weight, such as a newspaper or a jacket – the passenger air bag is automatically switched off.

If more weight is on the seat, as with a small child, the air bag remains turned off and an instrument panel light alerts the driver with the message "PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF." If an adult is seated properly in the passenger seat, the air bag automatically is switched on, ready to inflate within milliseconds, if needed. The safest place for children is in the rear seat, properly restrained.

With Occupant Classification Sensing, the 2005 Escape is expected to be the first vehicle in its class to meet the revised Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 – ahead of regulatory mandate.

Ford’s Safety Canopy, pioneered on the 2003 Explorer, will now be offered on Escape. The Safety Canopy side curtain air bags provide enhanced side impact and rollover protection by deploying from the headliner in certain types rollover and side-impact accidents. A sensor monitors the vehicle’s roll angle and roll rate. If the system determines a rollover may be imminent, the Safety Canopy deploys and remains inflated for several seconds. Escape is the only vehicle in its segment to offer a system with this rollover protection function.

For 2005, Escape’s front structure is upgraded to provide increased protection in offset frontal crashes. In these types of accidents, only a portion of the front structure must bear the full brunt of the impact, and deformation of the passenger compartment can result. To help manage these crash forces, the front structural rails have structural composite reinforcements to tailor the rate at which they absorb energy and help prevent deformation of the passenger compartment.

For 2005, Escape will have head restraints and three-point safety belts at all five seating postions. Adding the seat-integrated safety belt to the center position of the rear seat required extensive reinforcement of the seat frame.

Escape also has as standard equipment dozens of safety and security features, including:

• Beltminder™, which provides drivers with a gentle reminder to buckle up
• SecuriLock™ passive anti-theft system, which requires an electronically coded key
• Battery Saver, which helps prevent accidental battery drainage from the interior lights
• A fail-safe cooling system that guards against engine damage after coolant loss
• The optional Reverse Sensing System, which aids in reversing near driveway obstacles