Safety Systems
Revolutionizing occupant protection.
Personal Safety System®
The Personal Safety System® offers a number of different features working together to help protect the driver and right front passenger in the event of a collision. The system is able to adjust the deployment of the airbags to enhance protection for front occupants, depending on a number of factors. It does this with the help of several components:
- Personal Safety System Restraint Control Module (RCM) – a sophisticated computer located under the instrument panel at the front edge of the passenger compartment
- Electronic crash severity sensor – provides the RCM with an early indication of the severity of the impact
- Driver's-seat position sensor – tells the RCM where the driver's seat is in relation to the steering wheel. If the sensor determines that the seat is close to the steering wheel, a lower power airbag deployment is activated
- Front outboard safety belt usage sensors – monitors whether the driver and right front passenger are buckled up
- Front outboard safety belt pretensioners – once the RCM determines a collision is taking place, the front safety belts are tightened (pre-tensioned), helping to better position the belts on the occupants and restrain front outboard passengers more effectively
- Front outboard safety belt energy management retractors – once the safety belts have restrained front-seat occupants by deploying the safety belt pretensioners, the retractors gradually allow the safety belts to loosen, if necessary, helping reduce the force of the safety belts on the occupants' chests and allowing the occupants to move forward into the airbags
- Dual-stage Driver and Right Front Passenger Airbags – provides the capability of deploying in the full-powered mode, or with less power in the Stage 1 mode. In less-severe frontal crashes, airbags inflate with less force – or not at all – helping to reduce the risk of injury due to the inflation of the airbag
- Front Passenger Sensing System (FPSS) – uses the front passenger seat weight sensor and safety belt tension sensor to detect the presence of a properly seated person and determine if the front passenger frontal airbag should or should not be deployed. It's designed to recognise three conditions: when the front seat is empty, when a small person is present, or when an adult is seated in the front passenger seat
- The “passenger airbag off” lamp on the display panel is illuminated when the airbag is disabled for a small adult or child, or properly installed child restraint
Intelligent Safety System™
The Intelligent Safety System™ uses many of the same features as the Personal Safety System as well as specific enhancements to help take Explorer and Sport Trac to a new level of safety. Intelligent Safety System includes the following:
- Enhanced Restraint Control Module (RCM) – determines the setting and deployment of each adaptive restraint device, based on occupant position, classification, safety belt usage, and crash severity
- Adaptive Multi-load-limiting Safety Belt Retractors – allows for multiple levels of load limiting across the occupant's chest by using an electronically controlled mechanism
- Adaptive Airbag Venting (driver and front passenger) – diverts inflation gases from the airbag when a less forceful bag is sufficient for the desired level of occupant protection
- Adaptive Passenger Airbag Tether – controls the size and shape of the airbag
- Adaptive Steering Column – depending on occupant size, identifies appropriate energy management setting for the column to collapse properly
- Driver's-seat Track Position Sensor – monitors driver's-seat position and helps to determine airbag inflation, airbag venting, safety belt load limiting level, and steering column energy absorption setting, which helps minimise injury in the event of an out-of-position occupant
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