Ford's Inflatable Seat Belts

Did you know Ford offers an inflatable 2nd-row seat belt? They do!

Ford first introduced the inflatable safety belts in the backseat of 2011 Ford Explorer, and currently offers the feature on the Explorer, Flex, and Fusion, and the 2015 Ford F-150 pickup.

In the event of a crash, the inflatable mechanism deploys across the passenger’s chest, helping to distribute the force across a greater area than a traditional seat belt alone. If you’ve ever been in a bad accident, you know the impact of your body on the seat belt can be very painful.

It operates and looks like a conventional seat belt in everyday use, and they are compatible with infant/child car seats and booster seats. In fact, the inflatable safety belt is even said to be more comfortable in everyday use.

The inflatable belt spreads crash forces over five times more area of the body than a traditional seat belt. In a crash, an accordion-fold tubular bag inflates with cold compressed gas through a specially designed buckle from a cylinder located below the seat.

This video demonstrates how they expand in a crash situation:

Among all passenger vehicle occupants in crashes during 2007–2012, 12% were seated in back. Of that 12%, children younger than age 13 accounted for 56%, teenagers from 13 to 19 made up 19%, and adults were 21% of back-seat occupants. IIHS (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety) recommends that manufacturers develop advanced restraint systems tailored for the back seat, such as inflatable safety belts that are offered with Ford.