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ADVANTAGE ONLINE: PERSONAL SAFETY SYSTEM
October 22, 2001 -Ford’s Personal Safety System, a computer-driven airbag and seat belt system with "thinking" capabilities, was first introduced on the 2000 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable. The Personal Safety System is now available on the 2002:
- Ford Explorer, Taurus, Focus, Windstar, and Crown Victoria
- Mercury Mountaineer, Sable, and Grand Marquis
- Lincoln Town Car
- Jaguar XK8
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Caption source: Ford Motor Company
When involved in a front-end collision, sensors relay collision-related information back to the restraint control module. The restraint control module "thinks" about and reacts to various impact conditions by deploying the appropriate restraints to match those conditions.
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The Personal Safety System is designed to work with a group of sensors that feed accident-related information to the restraint control module. These sensors detect how close the driver is to the steering wheel, if the driver and/or front seat passenger is wearing a seat belt, and the severity of the collision. The restraint control module then decides which appropriate restraints to deploy. A weight sensor in the front passenger seat determines if the passenger airbag should deploy at all. If the sensor detects a small occupant, such as a child, or does not detect a passenger, the system will automatically turn off the front passenger airbag. A warning light will illuminate, cautioning that the system is deactivated.
Depending on a number of circumstances, the system is able to adjust the deployment rate of the airbags to enhance protection for front seat occupants. It does this with the help of several parts, including:
- an electronic crash severity sensor. This sensor, which is located at the front of the vehicle, sends information related to the severity of the impact to the restraint control module. The restraint control module then determines the appropriate energy level to inflate the airbags, and whether to activate the seat belt pretensioners.
- a restraint control module. The restraint control module, located under the instrument panel at the front of the passenger compartment, processes information from all safety sensors and determines the appropriate deployment of the airbags and seat belt pretensioners.
- dual-stage driver and front passenger airbags. The dual-stage airbags deploy with low pressure (Stage 1) or high pressure (Stage 2), depending on the severity of the collision. If the collision is severe, the airbags will deploy with high pressure, and if the collision is minor, the airbags will deploy with less pressure. This helps to reduce the risk of injury due to the inflation of the airbag.
- a driver’s seat position sensor. This sensor relays information to the restraint control module regarding how close the driver is to the steering wheel. This will also determine whether the airbag will deploy with full force or at a lower pressure.
- front outboard seat belt usage sensors. These sensors determine if the driver and front passenger seat belts are buckled. If the occupants are not buckled during high speeds, the airbags will need to deploy with greater pressure. If the occupants are buckled during low speeds, the airbags can deploy at a lower pressure. This, again, helps to reduce the risk of airbag-related injuries.
- front outboard seat belt pretensioners. These pretensioners cause the front seat belts to tighten firmly against the occupants before the airbag deploys. This helps to reduce the force of the belt on the occupants and holds them in position at the start of airbag deployment.
- front outboard seat belt energy management retractors. Once the seat belts have restrained the front passengers, the retractors let the seat belts loosen, which reduces the force of the belts on the occupants’ chest, allowing them to ease into the airbag.
The Personal Safety System is expected to help reduce the rate of unnecessary airbag deployments for occupants who are wearing their seat belts, lower the risk of airbag-related injuries, and reduce airbag replacement repair costs.
The next issue of the I-CAR e-newsletters will provide part inspection and replacement requirements of the Personal Safety System.
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