Years ago, you really had one choice when it came to a safe cars - Volvo. Nobody else had the reputation for safety they did. There was even a joke in a Dudley Moore movie that a Volvo ad should say, “We’re boxy, but we’re safe.” But these days, Mercedes-Benz safety is up there with the best…and it has really always been that way.
Mercedes-Benz formed its own department for safety development 65 years ago, headed by Austrian engineer Bela Barenyi. That department became a hotbed of innovation for the carmaker. Here’s just a short list of Mercedes-Benz safety innovations that we all pretty much take for granted in modern cars:
A safety steering column to protect the driver Crumple zones in various areas of the vehicle (which was in production by 1953) Side impact protection Airbags Anti-lock brakes Seat belt tensioners
Those features demonstrate that Mercedes-Benz is really the source of modern automobile safety. They pioneered over 2,500 car safety inventions.
In 2003, Mercedes introduced the PRE-SAFE system in some of its cars, which took Mercedes safety to another level. The system is designed to sense that an accident is imminent. When it does, the system swings into action to protect the driver and passengers. The simplest example is tightening the seat belts for extra protection, but that’s only one step the system takes.
The system is based on the concept that a panic stop, skid or rapid evasive maneuver signals an impending collision. At that point, the PRE-SAFE system prepares the vehicle for impact, and prepares various aspects of the passenger cabin to be a safety cocoon. Seat belts tighten, headrests adjust automatically to help minimize neck injuries, windows and sunroofs close, seat air cushions inflate to keep passengers snugly in place.
The Mercedes safety engineers even help protect kids. Their Automatic Child Seat Recognition (ACSR) system senses when a child safety seat is installed in the front passenger seat, and turns off the airbag.
Mercedes has essentially created a real-life super car that lives up to the science fiction images we have seen on movie screens. The effect is drivers who walk away from accidents remarkably unhurt. In 2005, a report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety declared the Mercedes E-Class to be the car with the best occupant safety in the U.S.
Mercedes makes a car that is easy to drive. There’s no substitute for driver decisions and judgment in avoiding accidents. But what happens when the driver is not at fault? Accidents happen, even when we’re driving safely and defensively. When they do, your Mercedes will protect you better than any other car on the road…except maybe for a Volvo.
Incoming search terms for the article:
Random Posts
Mercedes Video November 28th 2009
