Even before Rainer Justen suddenly applies the brakes, things begin to happen in his car: the seat belts tension and restrain his torso, preventing his body from moving forward during the braking manoeuvre and ensuring a safe seating position. At the same time, the seat cushions of the front passenger and rear seats are tilted to the rear, while the door panels move into the car's interior and mould themselves around the hips of the occupants like protective shields.
Fractions of a second beforehand the sensors in his car have detected another vehicle that is on a collision course with his own. An accident is possible. As a precaution the onboard computer therefore activates a number of protective systems to reduce the risk of injury to the occupants.
"Preventive occupant safety" — PRE-SAFE for short — is what the safety specialists at Mercedes-Benz call this vision of an innovative safety system for the cars of the future. Rainer Justen is an engineer at the Mercedes Technology Centre and has spent the last few months in intensive study of this trailblazing concept, which will make further significant advances in the vehicle safety sector possible in the future. Justen and his colleagues have already installed a number of conceivable PRE-SAFE systems in a test vehicle: automatically extending bumpers, movable interior door panels, sensor-controlled seats and other ideas for the preventive occupant protection of the future.