Accident-free driving — this vision drives us and is a fixed component of our sustainable business strategy. Our innovative driving assistance systems already offer drivers and passengers a high level of safety and comfort today. These systems can help drivers avoid or safely manage critical situations on the road in order to protect vehicle occupants and other road users. System warnings and active brake applications are now increasingly mitigating the consequences of accidents or even preventing them altogether.
Our goals on the road to accident-free driving
- We want to prevent or mitigate the effects of as many accidents as possible by making use of state-of-the-art assistance systems.
- We aim to achieve the best possible crash safety results with a high degree of occupant protection and protection of other road users.
- We continue to take measures that increase public awareness of the importance of traffic safety through education programs and roadshows, for example, and we provide information on safety technology and innovations.
- We are expanding the use of driving assistance systems in an increasing number of vehicles.
- We are integrating societal and ethical considerations into conditionally automated and highly automated driving systems — for example with our “ethics by design” concept.
- We implement data-protection principles and standards along the entire value chain in accordance with the “privacy by design” principle.
- We support social and political dialog on the topic of automated driving.
Safety is and will continue to be our core brand value. The great advantage of automating driving functions is that fewer accidents will be caused by driver error in the future.
We utilize a holistic safety concept
Whether it be cars or vans — different types of vehicles require different types of protection systems. This is why we utilize specific measures and safety systems in each vehicle segment. We employ our holistic “Integral Safety” concept in our vehicle development activities.
Our safety measures establish a bridge between active and passive safety – i.e. between accident prevention and protection when an accident occurs.
Active safety
Mercedes-Benz intends to significantly increase safety in road traffic by means of state-of-the-art driver assistance systems and additional vehicle-based protection systems, always with the vision of accident-free driving in mind. Depending on the segment and the customer requirements in question, we utilize a variety of closely linked safety systems as needed. Thanks to state-of the-art information technology and the dedication of our engineers, we are able to further improve these systems on a continual basis.
Passive safety
Mercedes-Benz has long been considered a safety pioneer — and still is, to this day. Mercedes-Benz conducted its first crash test as early as 1959. The results of internal crash tests and accident research activities are incorporated into the design of new models and used to improve existing systems as well.
