Mercedes Uses Tech for a Safe Drive
By CXOtoday Staff
Mumbai, Nov 13, 2008 1732 hrs IST

Besides its focus on occupant protection, the auto major will leverage technology to avoid traffic accidents and reduce accident severity. It is introducing Driver Assistance Systems, radar sensors, Highbeam Assist Detects, Night View Assist Systems, Speed Limit Assist and Attention Assist among other technologies to increase driver and pedestrian safety.

The project is a part of Mercedes-Benz s effort at implementing a global synergy of sophisticated safety technologies to give its cars extra senses and added intelligence. All of which makes Mercedes models part of the thinking process cars that can see, sense and act autonomously, the company said in a statement.

The aim behind the development is to prevent frequent types of collision, and collisions with serious consequences, by focussing on the causes of accidents, distance to other vehicles, speed, drowsiness, darkness and lane departure, the statement said.

Standard equipment Mercedes-Benz offers for these models also include the Pre-Safe anticipatory occupant protection system. Based on information received from sensors, it identifies situations that might turn into accidents and instinctively activates preventive occupant-protection measures, allowing the seat belts and airbags to deploy in the event of an impact.

During the course of its development to date, the new E-Class has successfully come through over 150 high-speed crash tests and more than 17,000 realistic crash simulations, including around 40 different crash tests which the saloon had to pass in order to gain world-wide approval and nine in-house impact tests, the statement said.