Fords seat belt/air bag hybrid

[docm]

Coming to a Ford near you: an inflatable seat belt/air bag

And they didn't need any tax dollars to do it.

Also: Ford turned a $1 billion profit last quarter.

Link....

Ford Introduces Seatbelt/Air Bag Hybrid To Save Little Johnny And Grampa

Airbags have become a crucial part of the safety features in any modern car. Unfortunately, they only protect people in the front seats. To solve this problem, Ford has created a combination seat belt/airbag for passengers in the back of the vehicle.

The inflatable seat belts blow up upon impact of a certain force, quickly expanding and providing added restraint and protection for people riding in the back seat of cars. And since the passenger in the back seat is more likely to be a child or elderly person, that extra protection really goes a long way.
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[a_lost_packet_]

That's pretty nice. The slower inflation is good as well. It may help prevent skin-burn and any other shock from the inflation. The belt expanding like that could also keep those nasty bruises and other trauma from being such a problem in conventional seat-belt injuries.

[brandbll]

I gotta hand it to Ford, they have been deifitenely been stepping it up lately. Good to see...

[Shpaget]

hmmm
How will it perform on grownups (or really fat kids ) if it was designed for children?
It would be positioned significantly different depending on the size of the person.
Besides, I don't see a reason why airbags can't be placed on the back side of the front seats.

[cosmictraveler]

I'd think that designing a 5 point seat belt harness for the people would be much better to hold them in place during any accidents. ALL race car drivers wear them, so why not make them for passenger cars as well? Seems that racing cars do not need any air bags at all which would save money and time in constructing the cars.

[Boris_Badenov]

I'd think that designing a 5 point seat belt harness for the people would be much better to hold them in place during any accidents. ALL race car drivers wear them, so why not make them for passenger cars as well? Seems that racing cars do not need any air bags at all which would save money and time in constructing the cars.

I have only one hand, & I'm far from unique, how would I put a 5 point harness on?

[Shpaget]

Yes, it's far too complicated to fasten it, and it could even be wrongly fasten so it might jam in an accident making it difficult to loose.
However, it is true that it's much safer, and some might say even more comfortable since it doesn't squeeze you (I hate it when the abdomen part gets so tight I can't move...).

[cosmictraveler]

I'd think that designing a 5 point seat belt harness for the people would be much better to hold them in place during any accidents. ALL race car drivers wear them, so why not make them for passenger cars as well? Seems that racing cars do not need any air bags at all which would save money and time in constructing the cars.

I have only one hand, & I'm far from unique, how would I put a 5 point harness on?

There's ways to make them that any hadicapped person could use them. The ones shown are for racing but they could be designed to use by regular people that drive daily as well. They could, as an example, make it so that you need to only "click" the upper to the lower belt with just a push of the upper seat belt into the lower parts harness.

[docm]

There are problems

1) complexity. Unless it's drop dead simple to fasten and adjust it won't be used. Most 5 points aren't either.

2) cost/benefit. It the inflatable gives 90% plus of the benefit at less cost and it qualifies under 1) then it'll be used.

[Shpaget]

5 point seat belt is easier to adjust than normal seat belt. Well the first time maybe not, but after that no need for adjusting whatsoever. You usually sit in the same place in the car every time, right? It's "your seat". Adjust it as you like the first time and enjoy.

Why you you think that inflatable is cheaper than 5 point?

[a_lost_packet_]

I'd think that designing a 5 point seat belt harness for the people would be much better to hold them in place during any accidents. ALL race car drivers wear them, so why not make them for passenger cars as well? Seems that racing cars do not need any air bags at all which would save money and time in constructing the cars. ..

Lessee..

Get into a standard auto with a 5-point added to it and then get into an accident..

Shock resistant heavy duty nylon strap between my legs and I'm traveling from 60mph to 0mph in 8 seconds?

Uh.. Professional racers that practice going fast and turning left all their lives might enjoy getting paid for that. But, I don't want to have to wear a cup every time I get into my car... and have to pay for the privilege.

(Actually, 5points wouldn't be bad but the seats would have to be redesigned. I think manufacturers are trying to combine comfort, ease of use and safety all in one package. I'd hate to have to get into a crash-rated seat whenever I wanted to drive. It might also be difficult for older people, handicapped and those with different statures and builds that deviate a bit from the norm, IMO.)

[a_lost_packet_]

..Why you you think that inflatable is cheaper than 5 point?

IMO, one reason it is cheaper is that you don't have to redesign car interiors around crash-rated sports seating. I do agree, despite my tongue-in-cheek comments above, that 5point with a crash-seat would be excellent. But, then we could add a roll cage, extinguisher system, reinforced firewall, etc... Pretty soon the idea of "comfort" would be a memory and we'd limit driving to only those people in good health with no back problems and who weren't overweight, handicapped, over 60, vertically challenged, horizontally exceptional, etc...

It has to be something that is as efficient as possible yet safe and unobtrusive. It's tough to do.

[Mee_n_Mac]

..Why you you think that inflatable is cheaper than 5 point?

IMO, one reason it is cheaper is that you don't have to redesign car interiors around crash-rated sports seating. I do agree, despite my tongue-in-cheek comments above, that 5point with a crash-seat would be excellent. But, then we could add a roll cage, extinguisher system, reinforced firewall, etc... Pretty soon the idea of "comfort" would be a memory and we'd limit driving to only those people in good health with no back problems and who weren't overweight, handicapped, over 60, vertically challenged, horizontally exceptional, etc...

It has to be something that is as efficient as possible yet safe and unobtrusive. It's tough to do.

What's tough to do is design something people will use. The only reason we have airbags in cars now is because people wouldn't use the seatbelts that came with cars back when and their deficit driving skills were getting the morons hurt and killed. The Gov't decided that was unacceptable and mandated some form of passive restraints. Remember the moving mouse seatbelts ? They went the way of the dodo and we're now stuck with airbags. Pogo was correct.

[docm]

Speaking as a former SCCA racer....

A good 5 point is not cheap and to work really well needs a proper restraining seat - see Recaro etc. Using one on a substandard seat would be near pointless and most people would not like their fit (butt & shoulder wings) or their cost: several hundred dollars (a Recaro street seat runs about $700). Also not easy for heavy people to use, and there are lots of those. Not to mention that the 'one time adjustment' mentioned above is silly since most cars have more than one driver, so that adjustment has to be made every time the driver changes. For households with a major size difference between spouses (I'm 6' 1.5" and my wife is 5' 3") this would assuredly cause conflict

[Shpaget]

A good car in Europe costs 20 000-40 000 €. I don't see a problem with additional 1 000 € that would 4 or 5 seats cost (it's cheaper when you buy in bulk).

[cosmictraveler]

Why not have a contest to see who could design a 5 point seat belt system that would be easy to use and cheaper than an airbag system? Remember that air bags could be removed if a strudier system could be shown that woked.