Ford unveils the inflatable seatbelt. 02/09/11
Car manufacturer Ford has developed inflatable rear seatbelt technology to improve safety for rear seat passengers.
Although they can prevent passengers from receiving potentially fatal injuries in a crash, conventional seatbelts can still cause severe bruising to the chest area in a collision because of their narrow width and limited ability to cushion the impact.
The new inflatable design combines airbag technology with a conventional belt which spreads the impact across an area five times larger than a normal belt. In addition to this the airbag provides extra cushioning against the effects of the impact.
The conventional seatbelt has been around for many years now with some manufacturers making minor improvements to its operation. The basic belt however has not really evolved since Volvo developed the lap and shoulder design back in 1959.
The belts operate by inflating at the moment of impact, but more slowly than a conventional airbag. According to Ford this helps control the head and neck motion more effectively to prevent injuries.
The device is to be incorporated into their new Explorer model in the US - but a date for it's introduction into European models has yet to be decided.
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