Taking safety measures a step further, Ford has announced that its eagerly awaited Ford Explorer, due for release in about a year, will be equipped with seatbelt airbags for backseat passengers as well. With this move, the company has become the first manufacturer to offer this facility.

Providing backseat passengers with an additional safety measure, the airbags will be sewn into the shoulder portion of the seat belts fitted in the rear. These will deploy outward and sidewise, less slowly and with decreased force as compared to the front-seat airbags.

"This marries two life-saving technologies - the airbag technology and the seat-belts. We do a lot of testing in all different configurations to make sure whatever we introduce is safe", shared Ford Vice President Sue Cischke.

According to the company, tests have been carried out in various different ways to ensure that the airbags work in as many as possible different conditions.