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Ford Looking at Seatbelts with Airbags to Reduce Accident Injuries

California personal injury lawyers have been very encouraged at the growing trend of automakers fine tuning safety features in their vehicles to gain an edge in the highly competitive auto market. Now, Ford Motor Company is introducing inflatable seatbelts that will protect back seat passengers from severe injuries, during front and side impact accidents.

The company announced in a press release, that it will be installing the seatbelts on certain vehicles, including the next generation Explorers, which will go into production next year. The belts come with a folded bag that fills with air during an accident. The belt has an increased diameter, which helps to transfer the force of impact across a wider area of the body, thereby lowering risk of serious injuries. The inflatable seatbelt will also reduce the risk of head, neck and chest injuries by keeping the person in his or her seating position. Ford says the belt has been several years in development and has been through extensive processor of trial and error.

California car accident lawyers have been severe critics of Ford’s poor safety record in the past. The Explorer, which is due to be equipped with the inflatable seatbelts, has been linked to an increased risk of rollovers and has been connected to several deaths and catastrophic injuries. These SUV’s have been the subject of several personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits because of these rollover accidents. However, safety experts believe that Ford’s inflatable seatbelts could be another milestone safety feature that reduces the risk of injuries to back seat passengers.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Ford’s inflatable seatbelts promise to enhance safety and protection for back seat passengers. Typically, safety enhancement efforts tend to focus on front seat passengers, leaving passengers in back seats prone to serious injuries or the risk of death in an accident. According to Ford, 90 percent of its research participants found the inflatable seatbelts much more comfortable than traditional seatbelts. The automaker believes that the increased comfort level could encourage backseat passengers to buckle up, thereby increasing seatbelt usage rates among backseat passengers.

Typically, backseat passengers tend to feel more secure that they will escape injuries in the event of an accident, hence the lowered seat belt usage rates. Currently, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show that nationwide rates of seatbelt usage for rear seat passengers is just 61 percent, while the rate of seatbelt usage for front seat passengers and drivers is 82 percent. Over 22 states have laws that require backseat passengers to buckle up. California has mandatory seatbelt usage for both front and backseat passengers.

Ford says the new inflatable seatbelts system will be very affordable. The company would like to eventually introduce the system across all its vehicles, but this will depend on how customers receive the new system. However Ford does expect customers to welcome the inflatable seatbelts, just as they have embraced cars with electronic stability control systems, side airbags and other revolutionary safety features.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of air bag failure and defective seatbelts. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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