Perhaps one of the most evolved aspects besides fuel efficiency when discussing newer manufactured vehicles can be found in the safety features which are presented. In the beginning there were reinforced structures to help in case of collisions, roll overs, or any other number of events that could occur, endangering the passengers. Eventually, the concept of the airbag was incorporated initially into automobile's steering wheels, where it resided exclusively; that is until it began to migrate across our entire dashboards. Doing such a phenomenal job, auto manufacturers saw no reason not to continue the migration clean around the vehicle, adding airbags to the side of vehicles. These giant curtains have evolved into a wall of side-impact safety.

Being as how the airbag has made it's way all the way around the automobile, auto manufacturers have been examining ways to further use this unrivaled safety feature. Back in 2006, right before the Detroit Auto Show, Ford Motors had revealed their plans to try and integrate the idea of airbags into the structure of the seat belt. What better place to have some inflatable safety than right up close and personal? Coming in 2010, Ford has announced that they will begin to incorporate their inflatable seat belt concept into their next-generation Ford Explorer design.

This idea can be seen as the automotive industry's first idea of this caliber. These inflatable seat belts will be featured in the back seats only, as the driver and passenger in the front are protected by a plethora of airbags and other similar safety features. While the initial concept is being placed within the Ford Explorer, it's very possible in the future these features will be implemented into other vehicles, residential and commercial alike. Examples include auto transportation trucks, mini-vans, and other similar vehicles.

This safety feature is made specifically for frontal or side impact. In a situation where either of these occur, the seat belt will inflate across the passenger's chest in 40 milliseconds. This aides personal safety due to the fact that when inflated, the belt will “cover five times more surface area of the body than a normal seat belt, which helps better distribute the forces of a crash.” There some definite differences in the way these inflatable belts operate in comparison to frontal airbags. While traditional airbags utilize a heat generated chemical reaction to inflate, the newly designed inflatable belts use a system involving cold compressed gas to inflate. Also, where as traditional airbags inflate exceptionally fast and under immense pressure (almost instantaneously) in order to cover the distance between the passenger and an object (i.e. Steering wheels or dashboards), the newly designed belts actually inflate slower and to a lower pressure.

While Ford coined the idea, they may not be the first to put it into production. The Lexus LFA also goes into production next year, and depending on who hits the dealer showrooms first, could be the first company to produce the feature. However, Ford Motors has the plan to implement this safety feature into their entire line in coming years. Also, being as how Ford sells to more people than Lexus, they pride themselves as being able to reach a wider base of automobile owners.