Posted by Admin on
July 3, 2008
In a recent study conducted by engineers at Mercedes-Benz, it was found that 20% of ALL rear-end collisions could have been avoided in Germany last year just with the simple help of the company’s DISTRONIC PLUS and Brake Assist PLUS. What’s even more interesting is Mercedes found that on motorways, rear-end collisions could have been reduced even further by an average of 36 percent!
The findings were based on a brand new procedure developed by Mercedes engineers that makes possible a predictive calculation of the usefulness of new safety technologies. The formula takes into account both official statistics and the analysis of the approximately 16,000 traffic accidents studied within the framework GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study), as well as the reconstruction of more than 800 rear-end collisions.
For those of you unfamiliar with either Mercedes’ DISTRONIC PLUS and Brake Assist PLUS, the systems are both radar-based, with around 40% of new S-Class models already equipped with the technology (and more than 80% of new C-Class models). DISTRONIC PLUS operates by keeping your vehicle at a driver chosen distance from the vehicle traveling in front of you, and, if necessary, is capable of braking your vehicle to a complete standstill, depending on the traffic situation.
In case the traffic in front of you slows too rapidly, the system provides a warning and calculates the required brake pressure required to safely stop the vehicle, which is then applied instantaneously by the Brake Assist PLUS system as soon as the brake pedal is depressed. Should you disregard the warning, the PRE-SAFE Brake system performs an emergency partial braking maneuver, significantly reducing the severity of the impact.
As for the potential impact Mercedes’ safety systems are capable of making in the real world: in Germany, there are over 50,000 severe rear-end accidents every year, with 5,700 noting death or serious injuries. In the U.S., around 30% of all traffic accidents are of the result of rear-end collisions. Reducing both by 20% and the severity of even more would without question be a milestone achievement in improving automotive safety.
To learn more about DISTRONIC PLUS and Brake Assist PLUS from Mercedes-Benz, as well as their contribution to accident prevention, you can find the complete information along with pictures in the official press release below.
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Posted by Admin on
June 16, 2008
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released their results from sending the all new 2008 Dodge Caravan into walls and other large obstacles a few times.
The good news for Dodge is that the minivan received top scores of Good in front and side crashes. The bad news is that the rear crash tests came back with a Marginal score, the second lowest possible.
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Posted by Admin on
June 15, 2008
The 13,000+ Bentley Continental owners (or, more likely, Bentley Continental owners’ chauffeurs) will now need to be making an unscheduled pit stop at their local Flying B dealership. An official safety recall has been issued due to the potential for road salt to corrode the fuel filter, resulting in leakage and the obvious potential for fire, Olde-English style.
Can’t wait to see the spin German behemoth VW is going to put on this. Perhaps something like: “It might not be a British car anymore, but we can still make it spontaneously combust, right? – Bentley Marketing.”
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Posted by Admin on
May 22, 2008
So, check out this interesting little statistic from MSN: 68% (that’s right, 68 percent) of all teens killed in a nighttime car crash were unbuckled. Does this mean that more teenagers buckle up during the day? Who knows… But as Memorial Day approaches, the point is, wear your freggin seat belt! You know chicks dig seatbelts, and who knows, it could prevent you from being killed or permanently disfigured.
Come on people, just pull that stupid strap over your shoulder, or else we might get those darn automatic seat belts again…
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Posted by Admin on
April 13, 2008
2008 smart fortwo – NHTSA side impact crash test
With all the recent stories about unplanned wrecked Exotics like the Ferrari F50 or the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, there’s also the planned crashes.What’s a planned crash? Well, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, does them all the time. They generally involve reasonably priced cars with no occupants however. In this case, with reports of doors opening, maybe all Smart vehicles will be accidents with no occupants.Reuters is running the story about the new-for-the-US Smart Minicar from Daimler AG. While the video does not show any doors opening, On the NHTSA’s website, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the driver’s door unlatched and opened during a side-impact crash test of the model. Nonetheless, the Smart car got 5 out of 5 stars for its ability to protect occupants during the very same side crashes. It won 4 stars for sheltering drivers and 3 stars for passengers during head-on crashes.
Daimler was not available for comment apparently.
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