Thanks to Ford and their engineers, the three-point safety belt has been reinvented to offer better protection, save more lives and hopefully make more passengers wear them.

The inflatable rear seat belts will spread crash forces over five times more area of the body than conventional seat belts. This helps reduce pressure on the chest and helps control head and neck motion for rear seat passengers.

Ford's inflatable rear seat belts will debut on the next-generation Ford Explorer, which goes into production next year. Then Ford will eventually offer inflatable seat belt technology in vehicles globally.

The Explorer was the first vehicle in Ford's lineup to get their Canopy side-curtain airbags that remained inflated during roll-overs and the first to use Roll Stability Control, Ford's name for a stability control system.

theCD's take: Ford says over 90% of research participants found the inflatable seat belt more comfortable to wear. Hopefully more people will wear their seat belt because of this reason alone.