Today I was invited to Ford to be a part of their announcement of the industry’s first ever inflatable seat belts to enhance rear seat safety.
Upon impact, cold compressed gas fills the accordion-filled bag inflating across the occupant’s torso and shoulder within 40 milliseconds of a crash. It is designed to help reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear set passangers, which are more often than not, children and older passengers.
The inflatable seat belts operate like a conventional seat belt and are compatible with infant and children’s car seats and booster seats. I have an 11 month old, 3 year old and a 5 year old, so this was my main concern when learning about this new safety feature Ford launched. I was concerned that when the belt inflated, my baby’s car seat would be launched into the air, but my concerns were quickly put to rest when I was told that all types of car seats had been tested using the new inflatable car seat and they have been testing this new technology since 2001.
Ford was the first automaker to introduce seat belts in 1955 and were the leaders in making driver and front-passenger air bags standard in most vehicles in 1993.
The seat belt feels like a traditional seat belt, yet is softer and padded. One complaint I have with seat belts is the sharp edge that rubs against my neck and I remember being a child and wanting to put the chest strap behind me. This completely defeats the purpose of wearing a seat belt, so that is one thing I really liked about the new inflatable seat belt.
Dr. Wang, a trama surgeon from the University of Michigan hospital that has been doing crash research investigations for 14 years, spoke about how frail children are since their body’s are still developing and how the elderly have less muscle, weaker bones and less organ reserve. Since these are the two types of people that usually ride in the rear seat of the car, Ford felt it necessary to design a safety mechanism to help protect their bodies upon impact in a car crash.
Ford is launching the rear seat inflatable seat belts in the Next Generation 2010 Ford Explorer.
Courtney is the ultimate multitasking mom! She runs three blogs Giftfully Simple, The Digital Mommy and Detroit Mommies , is a Social Media Marketing Consultant and has 3 girls under 6 years old. Courtney is the founder of Detroit Mommies. You can follow her on Twitter @theappleofmyeye. She has worked with companies like Johnsons & Johnsons, Dove, e.l.f., Stride Rite, Sorel, 20th Century Fox, The Palace, Melissa & Doug, Panera and Tiny Prints (to name a few). Courtney is a Purex® Insider and a Max Mom for Office Max.
