Ford Expands Use Of Inflatable Seat Belts To Lincoln Models

As most people are aware, seat belts are a crucial piece of car safety equipment that are mandatory in every car sold in America. Along with seat belts, airbags have become a standard safety device in cars as well. Ford has combined to the two into one device, adding rear seat high-tech pretensioner inflatable seat belts to the 2011 Ford Explorer. Now, the automaker has announced that they will be expanding the use of these revolutionary seat belts to Lincoln models.

When not inflated, these innovative seat belts work the same as a normal seat belt. One simply straps into the seat belt after it is adjusted properly across the chest and across the waist to use this seat belt. However, when the vehicle is involved in an accident, the airbag inside the seat belt will deploy to disperse the force across a larger portion of a persons chest, limiting the risk of injury. Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president of Sustainability, Environment, and Safety Engineering, when talking about this seat belt said, This 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.

Fords invention has been well received by the consumers and reviewers alike. Current data shows that 40% of the Explorer sales are to parents opting for the rear passenger safety feature. This invention also won Ford a gold medal for Applied Technology at the 2011 Edison Awards. With the already high popularity and demand, Ford is looking to add this development to the Flex another family oriented SUV and its Lincoln models.

Ford has also discovered that the padded inflatable belts feel more comfortable than standard seat belts. This could potentially increase the amount of people who wear the protective device, which is a worthy safety goal in of itself. In the US only 61% of rear passengers use seatbelts according to data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A scary figure, considering from 2004-2008 over 75,000 lives were saved by a seat belt. In 2009, the NHTSA estimated that over 1,600 lives would be saved if the number of people wearing seat belts would increase to 90%.

The addition of the inflatable rear seat belts to more Ford and Lincoln models is just another way the automakers are working to make their vehicles safer.