Ford will outfit future vehicles with the world's first inflatable seat belts that combine seat belt and crash bag technologies to increase safety for back row occupants.

The system is designed to help reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear seat passengers, who are often children or elderly people that are "more vulnerable to such injuries", Ford says.

Explorer first

The first vehicle to offer the technology will be the next-generation Explorer, which goes into production in 2010 for the North American market. Ford plans to offer the technology in vehicles globally.

Advances in crash bag inflation and seat belt construction methods have enabled Ford and its suppliers to develop inflatable seat belts that deploy over the torso and shoulder in 40 milliseconds in the event of a crash.

The inflatable belts operate like conventional seat belts in everyday use and are compatible with car and booster seats designed for babies or children. Ford says its research shows that over 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 are padded and soft.

Boosting buckle-up figures

That comfort factor could help improve the 61 percent rear belt usage rate in the US, which compares to 82 percent usage by front seat passengers, according to US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

Ford vice president for engineering and global product development Paul Mascarenas in a statement said: "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."

The inflatable belt's increase in diameter at the time of a crash more effectively holds the occupant in an appropriate seating position, reducing the risk of injury.

Cold gas

Each belt's tubular air bag inflates with cold, compressed gas, which flows through a specially designed buckle from a cylinder housed below the seat. The accordion-fold bag breaks through the belt fabric as it fills with air and expands sideways across the occupant’s body in about the same amount of time it takes a car traveling at highway speed to move about one metre.

The use of cold compressed gas instead of a heat-generating chemical reaction — which is used in traditional crash bag 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 air bags, because the device does not need to close a gap between the belt and the occupant.

The inflated belt distributes the force of a collision across five times more of the occupant's torso area than a traditional belt, which expands its range of protection and reduces risk of injury while also providing additional support to the head and neck. The belt remains inflated for several seconds after deployment before dispersing the air through pores in the crash bag.

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