New seat belts resemble racing harnesses
Regardless of the cocoon of air bags surrounding the occupants of today's vehicles, Dr. Priya Prasad, Ford Motor's Technical Fellow for Safety maintains that "the single most important piece of safety technology in a car or truck today remains the safety belt," and Ford engineers are actively researching new restraint technologies, like the four-point belt system shown above.Ford research showed that consumers who tested the four-point belts perceived them to be safer, more comfortable and (depending on design) easier to use than conventional three point belts. Ford maintains that thousands of testers of "all demographics and sizes" gave the racecar-like harness the thumbs up, and we're sure that the photo intentionally shows a female driver, but we're skeptical that women will really find the new system "more comfortable."
Still, we're all for efforts to adopt simple, comparatively inexpensive, and effective technologies to enhance safety, and there's no question that four-point belts are safer than today's three-point system. Just ask any racecar driver.
[Source: Ford]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
mhishon 9:02PM (6/29/2009)
To everyone commenting on the four-point seatbelt system
It is better for: pregrnat women, less iritating on the boobs, neck, nips. etc., easier for older folks to put on, provides better occupant position for airbag deployment and provides better load distribution for occfupnats of all sizes. Too bad there is one VERY BIG DRAWBACK to any harness (four-point) system and that is...controlling the realtive head and chest velocities during a crash. Yep...that's right folks...if you think whiplash from behind is bad just wait until you get in a frontral crash with a four-point belt system...talk about holding your head in your hands...if you could only ask Dale Earnhardt Sr.
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Peter 5:02PM (8/31/2006)
How many women, seeing that picture, would want seatbelts that crush their boobs?
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DC_1 5:07PM (8/31/2006)
That seatbelt looks so dame uncomfortable.
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Aaron 5:11PM (8/31/2006)
Or, as my wife brought up... "That wouldn't be the safest for a pregnant woman!"
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JSFORBES 5:12PM (8/31/2006)
I see a lot of nipple chafing coming...
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bgdc 6:09PM (9/01/2006)
Thumbs down. I've used racing harnesses in the past. No thanks.
And yes a busty woman would have issues.
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.T 5:13PM (8/31/2006)
Lap belts > *. :p
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Swat Lax 5:13PM (8/31/2006)
I think it would be fantastic if one of the OEMs adopted a setup like this into their next sports car. By integrating it into soemthing that appeals to enthusiasts, they would be targeting a market that is willing to make sacrifices for what they want (convenience for performance). Using the inherently low volume sports car market provide a low risk test market to gauge public response, while allowing the manufacturer to stake a claim as a leader in safety development.
Also, they could easily integrate it into their marketing campaign, with the driver straping into the harness/seatbelt like a race/rally driver would. I think I could produce that commercial myself.
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Ryan 5:20PM (8/31/2006)
"1. How many women, seeing that picture, would want seatbelts that crush their boobs?"
-No kidding, I'm a dude and that hurts even thinking about that on a chick if they get into an accident.
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Pinkerton 5:21PM (8/31/2006)
Also, what about women with implants? The liability issues are big. On the bright side, I bet this system really cuts down on "seat belt rash" as well. Maybe Ford could try installing both a conventional seat belt and the four point? Start with Volvo.
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John Bruzda 5:32PM (8/31/2006)
Who cares if it's not comfortable. Do race car drivers look comfortable? No, but they are as safe as technology can make them. I, for one, would welcome the 4 point belts. I don't particularly want to die in an automible accident! Anything that helps me to survive a collision is more than welcome!
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Joe 5:38PM (8/31/2006)
i think instead of seatbelts we should develop technology that utilizes principles of suction. I mean we can vent a/c through perforations in the seats, now just draw the air inward. We would all have to ride around naked, but thats a small sacrifice for safety. Plus we would never need to worry about wearing our seatbelt properly, just sit down and let the seat suck us in. Of course in a wreck when the vaccuum pressure would maximize we would have a massive hickey on our backsides...
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Ryan 5:39PM (8/31/2006)
"9. Who cares if it's not comfortable."
-How many people will wear them if they are not comfortable? Is that not why people did not want to wear them to begin with?
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Jason 5:52PM (8/31/2006)
Smart race car drivers don't use 4-point belts, they use 5 point belts with an anti-submarine belt from the front of the seat up between the legs. 4-point is good for consumer stuff, but I hope ford doesn't position it as 'racing technology for the road'
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Hamud 5:53PM (8/31/2006)
Surely they are first thinking about the "safe" side of the thing, then they start to worry about the comfort counterpart. Since Ford placed 2-points seat belts on a 56's model and since Volvo used 3-points seat belts, everything that makes the car safer is completely welcome.
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felonious.monk 5:59PM (8/31/2006)
"we're skeptical that women will really find the new system 'more comfortable.'"
Perhaps not more comfortable, but possibly more stimulating?
As for comfort, it's a safety device... not a spa accessory. Anyone who rates safety in terms of creature comfort is an idiot, like the ones who refuse to wear seatbelts due to discomfort. Think they'd complain about the comfort level of their coffin?
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Andy Keck 6:03PM (8/31/2006)
#12 is right on. 4 point belts are a submarining hazard. No organization up here will let you on a track with such a setup.
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geo 6:03PM (8/31/2006)
"there's no question that four-point belts are safer than today's three-point system. Just ask any racecar driver."
I disagree. There are no racecar drivers that use a 4-point belt. They can be very unsafe, especially in cars in which the seatback is reclined, like in formula cars. They use 5 or 6-point belts, where the extra point(s) go between the legs and either attach to the floor in the middle, or behind the driver near or at where the lap belts mount to the frame/chassis.
The problem with a 4-point belt is there is nothing holding the lap belt down. When you tighten the shoulder belts it raises up -- often far above the pelvis -- which is where the lap belt must rest. If you hit something head on like that, the belt will go straight through your gut and break your back.
I don't see anything that would prevent that in the picture above, but it's hard to tell from just one pic of it being buckled.
The beauty of a 3-point belt is that when the shoulder section of the belt is pulled, it tightens up the lap belt section. It pulls it down and into the proper position in respect to the pelvic bone. If it wasn't such a good system it would have been replaced by now.
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UK-KID 6:17PM (8/31/2006)
While I will accept "More Safe" as one of the advantages of this System, The "Easier To Use Than Conventional 3-Point Belts" claim Is a Damn Lie.
Drivers & Passengers could Effortlessly strap themselves in using one hand with the current 3-Point System as i would assume most of you do everyday but have you ever tried that one handed on a 4 or 5-Point Race Harness ??
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Dirk Dundenburg 6:09PM (8/31/2006)
Sad, but I just can't see Ford as a leader in vehicle seat belt safety...
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