What is a Belt Bag?
As the name suggests, Belt bag is a combination of belt and airbag, i.e. it is an airbag fitted in the seat belt. It is also a type of passive safety system that you will find in modern cars. It differs in appearance from the ordinary seatbelts. i.e. they have multiple layers in them compared to the single layer in the latter ones.
How Does A BeltBag work?
The engineers observed that during the events of the severe crash, seatbelt exerts a significant amount of force on the torso of passengers especially the rib case. This may prove to be disastrous if the passenger is old because the rib case loses its flexibility with age.
To avoid such a mishap, Belt-bag comes into action. If the safety system of vehicle detects the impact of great severity, then a gas generator inflates the Beltbag. This makes the seatbelt almost twice the width of the normal belt. Thus, it increases the area on the passengers’ body on which the force exerts. Thereby, it reduces the possible danger to the rib case.
Implementation of the Belt-bags in modern vehicles:
Due to their usefulness and added safety, the beltbags found their way in modern vehicles. The manufacturers employ the Belt-bags mainly on the rear seats of the vehicle. This is because the airbags fitted in the dashboard and in the steering wheel are already protecting the passengers on the front seats. The beltbags provide the much-needed safety to the rear passengers.
Ford Motor Company introduced the Beltbags commercially for the first time. The company offered them in the year 2011 on their SUV named Ford Explorer. Since then, the concept of Belt-bag is gaining rapid popularity in the auto industry.
See the Beltbag in action here:
Read more: How a seat-belt works?>>
