Edmunds | Help Contact Editor Sign In | Follow Inside Line
Our Explorer is equipped with a $595 option called BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) with cross traffic alert and inflatable rear seatbelts for second-row outboard-seating positions. These are essentially seatbelts with integral airbags. No wonder those buckles and receivers look chunky. Follow the jump to see how they work...
Would you pay extra for this safety enhancement?
Advertisement
Latest Poll
My next car will be:
Recent Posts
2012 Volvo S60 T5: Backseat Action
May 23, 2012 7:00 AM
1997 Mazda MX-5 Miata: The Door Bars
May 23, 2012 6:00 AM
2012 Ford Explorer XLT EcoBoost: Gets a Passing Mark for Road-Tripability
May 23, 2012 12:01 AM
2012 Toyota Prius C: Introduction
May 22, 2012 9:05 PM
2012 Audi A8L: The Sound of No Hands Clapping
May 22, 2012 4:46 PM
Advertisement
Tip the Editors
Got a breaking news tip for the Inside Line editors?
Send it to tips@edmunds.com
Awards
Vehicles
Past Vehicles
Browse Archives
duck87 says:
09:03 AM, 02/ 2/12
This system works a lot better on kids and seniors than it does for adults. There's been a few studies done that show how the seatbelt would actually harm seniors in a crash simply because of the compressive forces on the chest area- the airbag is meant to dissipate those forces over a larger area. It might actually be worthwhile if you have some fragile people you're carrying around.
legacygt says:
10:22 AM, 02/ 2/12
Pretty cool. Interesting that they chose to inflate through the buckle. Definitely a discreet way to do it but it does add quite a bit of complexity.
y8s says:
11:33 AM, 02/ 2/12
My friend scared the piss outta me with the demo of this at the Washington DC Area Auto show last weekend in the Ford booth.
langjie says:
11:38 AM, 02/ 3/12
smart idea. probably will become standard at one point. I probably wouldn't pay for this technology at this time though as my situation doesn't have me carry too many people in the backseat