As far as vehicle safety goes, it's hard to argue that the seatbelt and airbag are some of the most important advancements of the 20^th century. Well, in the 2011 model year, Ford Motor Company took it one step further: They created an inflatable seatbelt. Available first on the 2011 Ford Explorer, Ford's innovative rear safety belts were recently recognized by Popular Mechanics as one of ten products that push the boundaries of technology in an effort to solve real-world problems.

In its seventh year, Popular Mechanics' 2011 Breakthrough Awards recognized products like the smog-eating tile, a light bulb that can burn for 25,000 hours, and even film director James Cameron for his pioneering work on the world's most advanced 3D camera. After scouring across the aerospace, robotics, mechanics, engineering and medical industries, the magazine chose to honor inventions that "will make the world smarter, safer and more efficient in the years to come?setting benchmarks in design and engineering today."¹

Ford's overall goal with the inflatable seatbelt was to increase safety and comfort for some of a vehicle's most vulnerable passengers. In case of an accident, compressed gas is released into the belt, inflating a built-in airbag, and providing more than five times the support of a regular seatbelt. This new belt reduces strain to the neck, chest and head - injuries that can be the most dangerous to children and the elderly.

Popular Mechanics honored all award recipients at a ceremony in New York City in  early October. Accepting on behalf of the development team was Srini Sundararajan, Safety Technical Leader, Ford Research and Innovation, "[Our] goal is to develop safety technologies that give our customers peace of mind?I thank Popular Mechanics for recognizing the contributions of a number of dedicated engineers at Ford."¹

Ford has promised that this technology will be available in more vehicles, sure to be arriving soon at Montgomery Motors. If you're anything like the Research and Innovation team at Ford, we know how important vehicle safety is to you, so we invite you to stop by our showroom at 214 South Main Street, Troy, NC to view all of the advanced safety technology available in the new Ford lineup. In the meantime, stay tuned with our blog, as we plan to let you know when you might find new safety technologies in your favorite Ford model.

Source:^1,2http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=35419