Smart belts a lifesaver

Hi-tech seatbelts that protect motorists in pile-ups are set to make motorway driving safer.

Crash technology specialist Autoliv unveiled a new design that pulls occupants upright after an accident. It then resets itself in milliseconds, ready for subsequent impacts. This is made possible by a pneumatic pre-tensioner which has twice the power of standard systems.

One in four accidents involves more than one impact, claims Autoliv, and multi-car crashes are four times more likely to result in fatalities. “Currently, occupants can be in a bad position for a second impact,” said a spokesman. “Hunched forward, they could slip off the airbag or be more severely hurt. This puts them in the best place.”

The Swedish firm created the seatbelt-mounted airbag in the safety-focused Mercedes ESF (Issue 1,068) – and the system is likely to debut in top-end cars like the S-Class. Volvo, which has worked with Autoliv on whiplash protection, could be another early adopter – although the belts won’t be available until 2014.