Mercedes-Benz uses more than 120 female and male dummies of around 20 different types in the crash tests.

Real-Life Safety: From accident research to product innovation.

Our experts continuously analyse both real-life traffic accidents involving current Mercedes-Benz models and international accident databases in order to protect road traffic users even better in the future.

Our work doesn't end when our cars leave our factories. We want to understand how our customers use their vehicles in real-life road traffic and how these vehicles perform in actual accidents, in order to derive optimizations for future models.

Our mission is real-life safety. For 55 years we have been conducting systematic accident research with the aim of building vehicles that perform convincingly not only in defined crash test scenarios, but also in real-life road accidents. To this end, our Mercedes-Benz Accident Research experts analyse road traffic accidents worldwide and examine various Mercedes-Benz cars and vans that have been involved in road accidents. The findings form the basis for innovations that will help us to come closer to our goal of accident-free driving. More than 80 years ago, we were the first automotive manufacturer to set up our own safety development department. In 1959, we carried out the world's first crash test. Nowadays, the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety (TFS) in Sindelfingen constantly conducts new series of tests and analyses data. Our vision is to ensure that nobody is harmed in a road accident anymore. More than 80 years ago, we were the first automotive manufacturer to set up our own safety development department. In 1959, we carried out the world's first crash test. Nowadays, the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety (TFS) in Sindelfingen constantly conducts new series of tests and analyses data. Our vision is to ensure that nobody is harmed in a road accident in the future anymore.

Mercedes-Benz introduced the Hybrid III 5th Percentile Female dummy even before it was officially required by law.

Crash test dummies – as diverse as we are.

Over 20 years ago, Mercedes-Benz introduced female crash test dummies. Today, we use 21 different dummy models and advanced measurement technology.

Termination of a business trip: The actual crash takes just about 120 milliseconds. In order not to miss a detail, the tests are documented by high speed cameras taking 1,000 images per second.

The crash-test experts.

Mercedes-Benz has been conducting crash tests for over 65 years – at our Technology Centre for Vehicle Safety in Sindelfingen.

Safety at Mercedes-Benz is not a matter of drive system.

New standards with electric SUV crash tests.

With the first public crash test of two purely electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz demonstrated that our vehicles also offer a high level of safety in realistic collision scenarios and that our electric cars are in no way inferior to combustion-engine vehicles.

Every road accident is one too many. But every accident also offers an opportunity to learn for the future. Our experts have been analysing real-life accidents involving Mercedes-Benz vehicles since 1969. They take photos for precise accident reconstruction, document the damage in detail and record the accident site with drones. To date, over 5,000 real-life accidents have been investigated in this way and more than 1,000 data points are collected for each accident. This data enables us to reconstruct what happened in a computer program and identify improvement potentials. Accident research forms the basis of our development work. For example, the PRE-SAFE® system was developed to prepare a vehicle and its occupants for the possibility of an accident. Another example is the exit warning function of the Active Blind Spot Assist, which primarily protects cyclists from serious injuries. We analyse accidents in detail in order to understand how they occur – and to prevent them in future. Because we are committed to Vision Zero, the EU's goal of halving the number of road deaths by 2030 and reducing them to zero by 2050.

On the road with the accident investigators from Mercedes-Benz

Safety through science.

From securing evidence to safety progress – how our accident researchers have been analysing real-life traffic accidents for over 55 years and directly influencing our vehicles’ on-going development.

At Mercedes-Benz, we not only want to fulfil legislators’ regulatory requirements and safety regulations, but also set new standards that advance the entire industry. Our aim is to ensure the best possible crash safety, optimise occupant protection and protect vulnerable road users. The progress we have made has been confirmed by awards from renowned test institutes such as Euro NCAP, which awarded the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the EQE SUV in October 2024 a ‘very good’ rating in the special category for assistance systems.

We are aware that we can only achieve our goal of accident-free driving together with other stakeholders, such as legislators, the German Technical Inspection Authority (TÜV) and urban planners. That's why we use the Mercedes-Benz Road Safety Dashboard to share our data with urban planners in cities like London, for example. This digital tool shows where emergency braking frequently occurs so inner-city danger spots can be defused before accidents even occur. Our accident research data also gives us valuable arguments for our road safety initiatives, trough which we aim to protect children and other vulnerable groups in particular.

Children have fun with the MobileKids mascot “Moki”.

Fit for road traffic.

For over 20 years, our MobileKids initiative has been training children, as particularly vulnerable road users, in safe and responsible road traffic behaviour.

SAFE ROADS. Global commitment to safety and sustainability in road traffic.

Safe roads – worldwide.

Our SAFE ROADS initiative raises safety awareness through technical reports and interactive exhibits, especially in high-accident regions.