125 years of exemplary safety: On the road to accident-free driving

Mercedes-Benz is the pioneer of automotive safety. No other car manufacturer carries out such intensive research in this field and has brought so many crucial innovations onto the market. Ever since the invention of the motor car in 1886, Mercedes-Benz has been instrumental in the development of active and passive safety, setting one new benchmark after another in the process.

Today, accident-free driving ranks as one of the most important objectives that the researchers and developers at Mercedes-Benz are working to fulfill.

Many of the innovations first introduced by Mercedes-Benz have since become industry standards – from the rigid passenger compartment (patented in 1951, first implemented in series production in the 111-series "Fintail" models in 1959), to the ABS anti-lock braking system (introduced in 1978 in the 116-series S-Class) and the airbag (premiered in the 126-series S-Class from 1981), to the ESP® Electronic Stability Programme (presented in 1995 in the S-Class Coupé from the 140 model series). These days, such safety systems are standard fare for nearly all manufacturers. This means that, in a way, there is a bit of Mercedes-Benz in every modern-day motor car. And the innovative solutions in every new model the brand brings out show how vehicle safety will continue to be a matter of the highest priority for Mercedes-Benz engineers in future too.

The overriding goal is to continually reduce the number of road traffic deaths and injuries and prevent accidents from happening in the first place. When Mercedes-Benz’s systematic programme of safety research first began, the focus was initially placed on passive safety, meaning protecting the vehicle occupants as best possible in the event of an accident. Later, the safety experts at Mercedes-Benz started to devote their attention increasingly to active safety by developing innovations designed to mitigate the severity of collisions or prevent them from occurring at all – to the benefit of all involved.

Mercedes-Benz, calls for the “likelihood of personal injury to be reduced as far as possible”. The framework necessary for doing this is provided by a system which classifies and describes the various parameters of vehicle safety. The two umbrella terms that are coined are Active Safety and Passive Safety. Based on this original definition, active safety encompasses the areas of driving safety, driver-fitness safety and operating safety, while passive safety covers the aspects of exterior and interior safety influenced by design and construction. With a view to protecting other road users, therefore, an all-embracing safety concept should not focus just on the occupants of a Mercedes-Benz, rather it should also benefit the other party involved in an accident.

The two areas of active and passive safety would later be merged to form the basis for the integral safety concept that is applied at Mercedes-Benz today. The list of innovations which are invented, developed and first brought to market by Mercedes-Benz is virtually endless.

Mercedes of the future performs all-round check for accident risks

An even more futuristic-sounding concept goes under the name of PRE-SAFE® Structure. This features a sort of “airbed” made of metal, which is designed to offer extra protection in the event of a side impact. The lightweight metal sections are normally folded up to save space and concealed from sight. If they are required, a gas generator builds up an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar within a few fractions of a second, causing the sections to unfold and produce a highly stable structure. The “braking bag” is more spectacular still. The ESF 2009 experimental vehicle is fitted with such an airbag between the front axle carrier and the underbody paneling. If the system of sensors detects a collision that can no longer be averted, the vehicle reacts by triggering two measures almost simultaneously: PRE-SAFE® automatically applies the wheel brakes at full power, as it is already capable of today in the E-Class, S-Class and CL-Class. A short time later, the “braking bag” is deployed whose friction coating braces the vehicle against the surface.

The vehicle’s vertical acceleration increases the downward force and, as a result, the amount of friction too, helping to further decelerate the vehicle before the impact occurs.

Accident-free driving remains an ambitious goal for the future

The quest for accident-free driving poses a multifaceted and, above all, ongoing challenge: the aim of the engineers will always be to make the next generation of vehicles safer than the last, while also reacting to the evolution of the complex machine that is the motor car and to changes on our roads.

Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) is the distributor for Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Sri Lanka.  DIMO will be celebrating 125 years of the automobile during the Mercedes-Benz Pageant on 29 May 2011 morning. The latest models of the Mercedes-Benz family will be on display on the same day evening to the public.

FT Insights

Key Mercedes safety development milestones:

1901 - The Mercedes 35 hp sets the mould for the modern-day motor car. The long wheelbase, the large track width and the low centre of gravity give it particularly safe handling characteristics.

1921 - For the first time, front wheel brakes are included as standard on a Mercedes for far superior deceleration – starting with the highest-powered model, the 28/95 hp Sport.

1931 - A further driving safety milestone is reached with the 170 model (W 15) as the first series-produced passenger car with independent suspension for all four wheels (“swing axles”) and a hydraulic braking system.

1933 - Premiere of the double-wishbone independent front suspension in the Mercedes-Benz 380 (W 22). This groundbreaking construction, which performs the tasks of wheel guidance, suspension and damping separately from one another, becomes the standard front suspension concept – not just at Mercedes-Benz, but for numerous manufacturers worldwide.

1949 - The patented safety conical-pin lock prevents the doors from bursting open in a collision.

1951 - Mercedes-Benz files a patent for the world’s first safety body with a rigid passenger compartment and defined crumple zones. It enters series production in 1959.

1959 - The crumple zone goes into production: the Mercedes-Benz 220, 220 S and 220 SE models (111 series) are the first series-production cars to have a safety body and an “injury-proofed” interior.

1959 - Mercedes-Benz starts conducting systematic crash tests at the Sindelfingen plant, which become an intrinsic part of the vehicle development process and take place outdoors until 1973.

1970 - Mercedes-Benz presents the first generation of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) in an experimental version.

1971 - Mercedes-Benz files a patent for the airbag.

1978 - The 116-series S-Class becomes the first car in the world to offer the second generation of the anti-lock braking system (ABS). By 1980, it is available for all Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

1979 - The 126-series S-Class is the world’s first motor car to feature a fork-arm structure specifically designed for an offset front impact. The new saloon’s front seat belts are height-adjustable. Seat belts are fitted for all outer seats as standard throughout the Mercedes-Benz passenger car range.

1982 - The multi-link independent rear suspension makes its debut in the Mercedes-Benz compact class (201 series) and sets new benchmarks for driving safety and comfort.

1987 - At the IAA Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz presents the first front passenger airbag, which is optionally available for the S-Class (126 series) and, from 1988, the mid-range 124 model series too.

1992 - From October of this year, the driver’s airbag and the anti-lock braking system (ABS) become standard on all Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

1995 - World premiere of the xenon headlamp with dynamic headlamp range control in the

E-Class (W 210) and the SL-Class (R 129). The Electronic Stability Programme (ESP®) makes its debut in the S 600 Coupé as a world first.

1998 - The 210-series E-Class becomes the first model to be fitted with the newly developed window bag.

1999 - The Active Body Control (ABC) suspension celebrates its world premiere in the CL-Class (C 215).

2002 - The AIRMATIC DC (Dual Control) air suspension system is launched in the new 211-series E-Class.

2003 - Mercedes-Benz introduces the active light function in the E-Class (211 series), which improves illumination of the road in bends by up to 90 percent with dipped beam on.

2006 - The 211-series E-Class is the first car in the world to be offered with the Intelligent Light System. Mercedes-Benz launches the PRE-SAFE® Brake with autonomous partial braking in the S-Class (221 series) and the new CL-Class (C 216). This system, the only one of its kind in the world, brakes the vehicle automatically prior to an impending rear-end collision.

2010 - World premiere for two new active driver assistance systems: The radar-based Active Blind Spot Assist warns the driver when changing lanes if another vehicle is detected in the exterior mirror's blind spot. With the Active Lane Keeping Assist, a camera attached to the windscreen detects solid lane markings, allowing the system to warn the driver when the vehicle is drifting unintentionally out of its lane.