Buckle Up With Inflatable Seatbelts

Ford has designed a new seatbelt with a completely innovative idea. The Inflatable Seatbelt! It’s much like an airbag in the way that when a collision happens an inflatable bag expands preventing you from breaking bones by softening your impact preventing injuries which could cause damage or death, the idea that the seatbelt contains one of these tailor designed airbags which experts say they will be most effective in preventing children from breaking ribs, sustaining internal damage and bruising. These seatbelts are also said to spread the impact area of a crash to over five times larger than the traditional seatbelt which of course means less damage is focused on a particular part of your body.

The way this idea works is that a pocket sewn cylinder airbag is fitted inside the belt from buckle to shoulder. There is compressed gas hidden underneath the occupant’s seat which on impact inflates the belts almost instantly. These are activated by crash sensors on the outside of the vehicle which measures the impact and applies the appropriate amount of compressed gas to inflate the seatbelt to a set amount adequate for the size of the crash. Whilst it’s not in crash mode and is just being an ordinary seatbelt it looks much like the traditional seatbelts of current.

These seatbelts are set to be rolled out in the new Ford Explorer 4x4s and they are hoping that the success will spread to Britain and be rolled out on a major scale. A staggering 90% of people that tested this product said it was “more comfortable than the traditional seatbelt”, of course its not always about comfort it’s a safety measure but ford spokeswoman Sue Cischke, vice president of safety engineering at ford also said it would “enhance safety for rear-seat passengers of all ages, especially for young children who are more vulnerable in crashes”, judging on all this evidence it looks very likely that this innovative idea will eventually be introduced to most cars around the world, however there is still critics doubting the validity of the idea so I guess we will just have to see.

Having worked in the car rental industry for over 15 years, he really knows his stuff. Rob heads up our marketing department and as a keen traveller, always has a new location to talk about. Particularly if there is a golf course nearby.