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Some cars today have as many as 20 airbags – in the front, on the sides, to shield heads, even airbags to protect knees. Now, Ford is going one step further. The automaker has announced it will become the first automaker to offer seatbelt airbags for backseat passengers. The airbags will appear first in the company's next general Ford Explorer – due out in about a year. The airbags will be sewn into the shoulder portion of the rear seat belts – and will deploy outward and sidewise, like a small tubular pillow. Ford says these seatbelt airbags deploy more slowly and with much less force than frontal airbags. That, they say, makes it safe for a rear seat occupant, from a young child to an elderly passenger. Ford Vice President Sue Cischke told ABC News, "This marries two life-saving technologies – the airbag technology and the seatbelts." "We do a lot of testing in all different configurations to make sure whatever we introduce is safe," Cischke said. She added that Ford even tested to see what would happen if a child's head was resting on the seatbelt when the bag deployed, "We've done testing with kids sleeping, a dummy simulating a child sleeping, just to make sure that it works under all different conditions." Ford says it also tested the new airbag with child car seats and booster seats. "They (parents) don't need to worry, because we're doing this to protect kids,"said Cischke. ...... |
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