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By EWAN
KENNEDY
22 June 2009
Mercedes-Benz
has just announced details of its latest experimental safety
vehicle for 2009. No, not just for 2009, because there are some
astonishing ideas in this vehicle that may not be introduced for
years to come – if at all. But there's a lot to be said for
advanced discussion in any life-saving features.
Like several other car makers in the 1960s and ‘70s,
Mercedes-Benz produced experimental safety vehicles when it
started to become obvious that big improvements were urgently
needed.
One of the most fascinating ideas is what Mercedes-Benz calls a
‘Braking Bag’. A type of airbag, except that it sits
underneath the car, it would deploy downwards should the car’s
sensors realise a crash is inevitable. The Braking Bag will cause
the vehicle to slow down even more rapidly than the normal brakes.
It may also be able to assist by adding stability to the car.
Another excellent piece of lateral thinking is the use of metal
structures within the crumple zone that could change their shape
when a collision is unavoidable. This would provide extra strength
that's only needed during a crash. Because the car wouldn’t have
to carry permanent safety structures that would only be used in a
very small number of cars, engineers could design a car that's
lighter, and therefore more economical and less damaging to the
environment.
Occupants would be moved away from the sides of the car during a
crash by a system called Mercedes-Benz ‘Pre Safe Pulse’. This
would use special bolsters in the sides of the seats that would
push people away from the danger zones as a crash begins.
As well as the numerous airbags already fitted to Mercedes-Benz
cars and commercial vehicles, the Germany company is also working
on development of additional airbags built into the safety belts.
To try and prevent crashes in the first place, the Mercedes-Benz
ESF 2009 has systems that let cars communicate with one another
and alert drivers to potential dangers in front of their cars. For
example they could tell if vehicles close to yours have suddenly
braked and/or swerved. Other indications of upcoming hazards could
be a warning that vehicles in front of yours have turned their
wipers on to full speed. If you're driving in dry conditions, or
even in light rain this warns that a sudden downpour is imminent.
Driving after dark would become safer as a Mercedes-Benz fitted
with ‘Spotlight Lighting Function’ would constantly monitor
the area in front for unexpected objects that had fallen onto the
road, or perhaps animals that had wandered into danger. That
monitoring would be done by an infrared camera which uses rays
that are invisible to the naked eye, but the camera would turn on
long-range spotlights for a few seconds if it spotted danger
ahead.
Some upmarket Mercedes-Benz models already have an infrared camera
to help the driver see more clearly after dark by way of a screen
in front of them. The spotlight could be added without a great
deal of extra work, so this feature may make an appearance
relatively soon.
On a somewhat mundane, but equally important note, the Mercedes
ESF 2009 has cameras aimed at the back seat to let you keep an eye
on the kids without having to turn around. A real crash-preventer
this one and one we would like to see in all kid-carriers very
soon.
The Mercedes-Benz ESF2009 has just made its premier at the
Advanced Safety Vehicle conference in Stuttgart. It may come to
other motor shows, including next year’s Sydney show, but it's
far too early to say what its future will be.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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