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When airbags were first designed, automobile manufacturers placed them inside of the steering wheels.  The inflatable bags were eventually placed in the dashboard and on the side of the cars.  Ford motor company wants to fill the car with a few extra air bags by placing them inside of the seatbelts.

Ford’s inflatable seatbelt are posed to enter production in 2010 and is scheduled to be a new feature in the next generation of Ford Explorers.  The inflatable seat belts will be specifically designed for passengers in the back seat.  The company has decided that those in the front seat have enough airbags already.  Many rear-seat passengers are children and the elderly, and this demographic of passengers are more vulnerable to chest, head, and neck injuries.

The seat belts automatically inflate in the event of a side or frontal impact.  The seat belt inflates across the passenger’s chest in 40 milliseconds.  This can reduce the amount of energy that a person suffers because an inflatable seat belt better distributes the forces of the crash.  Most Ford research participants claimed that the seat belts are much more comfortable than the traditional kind.  The automobile company is hoping that the comfortable aspect will increase the rate in which rear passengers use the belt.

Ford isn’t the only company that likes the idea of an inflatable seat belt.  Toyota and Lexus are also excited about the idea.  The two companies have decided that some of their cars will begin to come equipped with the inflatable seatbelt in 2010.

Via Engadget