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Ford brought a demonstration of its upcoming inlatable seat belt to Los Angeles last week.
Ford Motor Company has been devoted to producing safer cars since at least 1956, when they touted new "Lifeguard Design." Back then, Ford's padded dashboard, optional seat belts, safety door latches, deep-dished steering wheel, and safety door handles were state of the art. Though few people cared about automotive safety in the 1950s, Ford pressed on regardless.
1956 Ford ad promotes new "Lifeguard Design" safety features.
Today Ford boasts of industry leadership in both the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration Five Star safety ratings and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick ratings. But the company's wise enought to avoid resting on their laurels. A recent L.A. demonstration of upcoming inflatable seat belts shows that Ford gets it about maintaining leadership in an area that has caught up with them in terms of public awareness.
Don't we have enough airbags already? Why inflatable belts? Ford safety engineers discovered that current safety belt technology could be vastly improved with the addition of inflatability. Inflatable belts spread crash load forces over five times more body area than conventional belts, thus considerably lessening those impacts on the body. The new belts also aid greatly in controlling motions of passengers' heads and necks--a frequent cause of injury.
Ford has committed to introducing inflatable belts on their next generation Explorer, due out this coming year. It will be a radical re-thinking of what was one of America's favorite family cars--a "less truck, more car" vehicle with added comfort and safety.
The recent local demonstration of Ford's new seatbelt technology shows their committment to staying ahead of the pack in terms of safety engineering. No less a personage than Saeed Barbat, manager of Ford's Passive Safety Department flew to Los Angeles to explain his company's new technology.
Once again, Ford shows that it's a relentless innovator, leading the way for competitors to match its committment to auto safety.
For more info see slide show and link below:
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