George Herald | Airbag for seat belts

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Airbag for seat belts
09:30 (GMT+2), Thu, 26 July 2012

The inflatable seat-belt strap will reduce the risk of injury to passengers in the rear, in a head-on collision by lessening strain on the ribcage.

MOTORING NEWS - The Beltbag from the ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle, is due to go into production in a luxury-class model from Mercedes-Benz.

The inflatable seat-belt strap is able to reduce the risk of injury to passengers in the rear in a head-on collision, by lessening the strain placed on the ribcage.

Should the crash sensors detect a severe frontal impact, the airbag control unit will trigger deployment of the Beltbag. A gas generator will inflate the multi-layered belt strap with Velcro seams, to nearly three times its normal width. The resulting larger surface area will better distribute the force acting on the seat occupant, thereby reducing risk of injury.

The Beltbag is used the same way as a conventional seat belt. Although the belt strap's design is different from that of a standard belt, it received top marks in practical trials for being comfortable to wear and for its extra-soft belt strap edge.

Like the active seat-belt buckle recently presented by Mercedes-Benz that is earmarked for inclusion in a luxury model, the Beltbag was developed with a view toward new markets.

There, the occupancy rate in the rear is as much as 30%, which is much higher than in Europe. By introducing the Beltbag, Mercedes-Benz is further expanding the safety system for passengers in the rear. Seat belts in the second row of Mercedes-Benz models already come equipped with belt tensioners and belt force limiters.

It is not planned to introduce the Beltbag for the front occupants, as airbags are already included in the front on all models as a supplementary restraint system.