"We've built one of the most comprehensive safety and security packages available into the new Explorer. Safety leadership drove our vehicle development efforts because we know that owners of SUVs are not immune to the hazards we all face on the road every day. There is no mistaking that SUVs require different driving skills and techniques than cars. We've looked at the most threatening driving conditions and situations and developed new technologies to help further improve protection for our SUV drivers and their families."
- Helen Petrauskas, Ford Motor Company Vice President,
Environmental and Safety Engineering

• All-new Safety Canopy system, which consists of industry-first side-impact curtain air bags (available from launch) and rollover protection (available later in 2001)
• New AdvanceTrac™ interactive vehicle dynamics system - the first application on a truck or SUV - combines the benefits of traction control and electronic stability (yaw) control (available later in 2001)
• Ford Personal Safety System, including driver and passenger dual-stage air bags with tailored deployment characteristics (available later in 2001)
• Passenger seat-weight sensor detects objects or occupants and deactivates air bags when necessary
• New pretensioners and energy-management retractors make safety belts even more effective
• BeltMinder™ system helps remind drivers to buckle up
• Child safety seat attachments help ensure proper child seat attachment in second and third rows
• Lower front bumper enhances SUV compatibility with other vehicles on the road
• New patented ControlSlip rear driveshaft helps manage energy during frontal impacts
• SecuriLockTM passive anti-theft system helps deter would-be thieves

In addition, to being the best-selling SUV in the world, the 2002-model Explorer will be one of the first sport utility vehicles on the market with such technically advanced safety features as head-and-chest side-impact curtain air bags, rollover sensors, AdvanceTrac™ interactive vehicle dynamics and a patented ControlSlip rear driveshaft that helps manage energy during frontal impacts.

Added to these firsts are Ford's AdvanceTrac™ interactive vehicle dynamics, improved safety belts, child seat tethers and a lower front bumper that is on par with many passenger cars, to enhance SUV-to-car compatibility.

Many of the new features will be available at vehicle introduction in early 2001. Some of the very new technologies - including rollover sensors, AdvanceTrac™ and front dual-stage air bags that deploy based on the severity of the crash, safety belt usage and driver seat position - are being phased into production and will be available later in the year.

The Safety Canopy

Safety Canopy is the name given to the combination of the new head-and-chest side-impact curtain air bag system (available at launch) plus the new rollover sensors (available later in 2001). The Safety Canopy provides one of the most advanced side-impact protection systems available on any SUV in the industry.

Although rollovers represent only a small percentage of all SUV accidents, they can have fatal consequences, particularly when a passenger is ejected from the vehicle. Approximately half of all SUV fatalities involve a rollover. During these types of accidents, occupants thrown from the vehicle are up to 10 times as likely to be killed or seriously hurt than occupants who remain inside.

Safety belts are the single best tool for keeping passengers inside during a rollover, but the new air bags and rollover-sensing technology supply another line of defense.

"Ford scientists and engineers have been working hard to provide our SUV customers with more potentially lifesaving features. Continuous improvements planned for Explorer clearly demonstrate this commitment," says Petrauskas.

Explorer is Ford's first SUV with new side-curtain air bags. They are air bags that deploy from the headliner across approximately 75 percent of the side glass area to help protect first- and second-row occupants in the outboard seating positions during a side-impact collision. The optional head-and-chest side-curtain air bags are tethered at the front and rear.

The side-curtain air bags are triggered independently of each other and from the driver and passenger front air bags. They deploy within 25 milliseconds and fully inflate within 15 milliseconds. Sensors located at the base of the B- and C-pillar area trigger the deployment.

"We chose this design because it provides significantly enhanced protection to passengers in the first and second rows," says Stephanie Sweeney, Supervisor of Crash Testing. "Other mounting positions or sausage-shaped bag designs could have left some areas unprotected."

The electronic rollover sensors - which will be added to Explorer later in 2001 - provide additional protection by measuring whether the vehicle is tilting, how fast the lean angle is changing and whether the combination means the vehicle is headed for a rollover.

If a rollover situation is determined by the system, it deploys the head-and-chest side-curtain air bags to help protect passengers in the two front rows - and help keep them inside - until the vehicle comes to a complete stop. The air bags remain inflated for up to 6 seconds - far longer than conventional air bags - to provide additional occupant protection. The location of the air bags and the physics of the deployment decreases the risk of injury to out-of-position passengers.

Personal Safety System

Explorer also will include Ford's Personal Safety System later in 2001.

The system combines: dual-stage front air bags that deploy based on crash severity; sensors to detect if front-seat occupants are wearing safety belts; driver's seat position sensor; safety-belt pretensioners and load-limiting retractors.

Second-generation front air bags are standard for the driver and passenger, safety belt pretensioners and load-limiting retractors will be available at launch. Later in 2001, the complete Personal Safety System - with dual-stage air bags and safety belt sensors - will be added.

The fully integrated, computer-driven Personal Safety System includes nearly a dozen technologically advanced components that cannot be seen by customers. The system, in short, "thinks" about and responds to different accident conditions by deploying the vehicle's occupant protection systems to match those conditions.

A collection of sensors feeds information back to the vehicle's Restraints Control Module - the "brain" of the system. The module takes into account the driver's seating position, driver and front-seat occupant's safety belt usage and accident severity before deploying appropriate safety technologies during frontal collisions.

For example, the system's passenger seat-weight sensing technology detects certain objects or occupants and turns off the air bag.

The sensor technology was specifically designed to help reduce injuries that can result when people seat young children in the passenger seat contrary to proper child-seating recommendations. Small children should always be seated in proper supplemental safety seats in the rear seat.

At the same time, the "brain" activates a specific level of air bag protection for front seat occupants - after determining if air bag deployment is necessary at all.

The dual-stage air bags offer two energy levels to inflate deploying air bags in a manner that corresponds to accident severity. A lower, less forceful energy level provides occupant protection for more common, moderate-severity impacts. Deployment with higher energy levels is required for more severe crash events.

The system also employs pretensioners that tighten the front safety belts and help prevent belted occupants from sliding and bouncing around during a crash.

If crash forces rise to severe levels, a metal bar tucked in the center of the spool of the safety belt retractor - called an energy management retractor - twists like a wrung-out washcloth. Such action releases small amounts of safety belt webbing in a controlled manner and helps reduce the risk of force-related injuries, especially to the occupant's chest.

Ford researchers anticipate the new Personal Safety System will significantly reduce the rate of air bag deployments for occupants who are wearing their safety belts during accidents.

The system is designed to help further reduce front seat occupants' risk of air bag-related injuries, as well as cut air bag replacement repair bills.

In addition to the Personal Safety System, top tether child safety seat attachments are provided in all second-row and third-row seating positions. The tethers provide an easier method of securing a child safety seat. Tethers are firmly connected to the vehicle's floor pan - rather than the seat.

Rigid metal anchor attachments located in the seat bite (where the seat back and seat cushion meet) are provided in the outboard positions of the second and third rows. Advanced child safety seats can be attached to the anchors.

Because safety belts are the best defense in preventing injury in the event of a crash, Explorer has Ford's new BeltMinderTM system, which provides the driver with a gentle reminder to buckle up once the vehicle is moving. A chime sounds and a red light flashes on the instrument panel.

Later in 2001, Explorer's manually adjustable lap belt in the rear seat middle position will be replaced with a three-point restraint.

AdvanceTrac™ Interactive Vehicle Dynamics

Explorer will be available with AdvanceTrac™ - a computer-driven interactive vehicle dynamics system - later in 2001. It is the first Ford SUV available with such technology. The system enhances stability in extreme driving conditions when drivers misjudge speed or road conditions. (For details, see Driving Dynamics).

ControlSlip Rear Driveshaft

Four-wheel-drive Explorer models are equipped with a patented new ControlSlip rear driveshaft. In the event of a frontal impact, the driveshaft is designed to telescope, not buckle. This movement helps the vehicle further absorb impact forces and manage energy.

In addition, the driveshaft is thinner than the previous shaft and contributes a 3.5-pound weight savings.

Safety All Around

Official government crash data will not be available until sometime in 2001. Nevertheless, in full frontal impacts, Explorer is expected to be among the safest SUVs on the road - based on extensive internal testing.

Ford's computer capabilities - the largest among any private company - allowed engineers to perform extensive simulated crash testing, complete with electronic dummies, to refine the vehicle's safety systems. Advanced modeling of the performance of every aspect of Explorer's crash performance was conducted on computers before it made its first collision with a barrier in the crash laboratory. The benefit of this sophistication is engineers' ability to fine tune each element of the Explorer safety system for outstanding performance should the need for crash protection ever arise.

The front portion of Explorer's frame includes precisely engineered crush zones, which buckle and dissipate energy in a frontal impact. The fully boxed frame is 350-percent stiffer throughout, which provides further improved side-impact protection. Steel beams in the doors also help to prevent intrusion during side impacts.

At the same time, the design team made Explorer more friendly to other vehicles on the road by lowering its bumper beam height 65 millimeters - more than 2 inches - to be on par with many passenger cars.

"Our bumper beam height is almost identical to a Taurus'," says Sweeney.

To accomplish this, Explorer engineers essentially inverted the frame. The triangular frames typically are designed with straight upper beams and diagonal lower beams that rise upward toward the bumper where the two meet.

The new design consists of diagonal top beams that trace downward to meet straight lower beams, thus creating the lower overall height. Special reinforcements were added to maintain structural rigidity.

The new bumper design will help to reduce damage to cars in common slow-speed incidents and allow lower vehicles' energy-absorbing bumpers to do their work.

Security Features offer Better Peace of Mind

Explorer is built with Ford's SecuriLock™ passive anti-theft key system, which helps deter would-be thieves. A chip inside the key communicates with the vehicle's electronics. Unless the authorized key is used, the vehicle will not start.

In normal operation, as soon as the authorized driver begins moving the vehicle, all the doors "autolock" for added peace-of-mind. Child locks are standard on the rear doors, for safety.

Inside the vehicle, extra security includes two under-floor bins in the five-seat model - one in the seven-seat configuration - which allow valuables to be stored and kept out of sight. A horizontal shade is available to hide the cargo area contents. Tinted privacy glass deters prying eyes.

The vehicle's air bags were redesigned to be more difficult to steal. Even the spare tire winch is now inside the rear cargo hatch, so the full-size spare tire is better protected from theft.

The vehicle also features perimeter lighting. Lights hidden on the underside of the side-view mirrors illuminate when the "unlock" button on the key fob is pushed or when the door handle is pulled. The lights illuminate the entire door area of the vehicle - to light the way for entry or to spotlight any potential danger waiting or lying under or near the vehicle.