For its future car models Mercedes-Benz is developing an innovative safety concept that will reduce the risk of injury for car occupants even further. The system known as PRE-SAFE, which Mercedes-Benz is presenting for the first time at the 59th International Automobile Fair (September 13 to 23) recognises a potential collision in advance and activates special protection systems even before the impact. These include new belt tensioners and automatically adjusting seats.
For the more distant future, other systems such as extending bumpers, smart crash boxes in the front-end structure or movable interior components are con-ceivable, systems which are able to keep the occupants away from the deformation zones. If the collision is avoided at the last moment the PRE-SAFE systems reset themselves to their original status, thereby avoiding expensive repairs.
This future-oriented concept is based on the findings of Mercedes accident re-searchers, which show that in approx. two thirds of all traffic accidents there is a relatively long time interval between recognition of an impending accident and the impact itself — and in future this can be used to activate the vehicle's protection systems.
"Our present protection systems such as airbags, windowbags or belt tensioners must ensure safety in a matter of milliseconds, even though accident recognition can be measured in seconds. Making use of this interval opens up new dimensions in occupant protection", explains Dr. Rodolf Schöneburg, the head of safety development at Mercedes-Benz.