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Mercedes Developing 'Auto-Swerve' For Pedestrian Safety

By Richard Read
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Mercedes-Benz SLK Grand Edition and SL Night Edition

Mercedes-Benz SLK Grand Edition and SL Night Edition

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Mercedes-Benz is known for its safety features, so it should come as no surprise that the automaker is now working on "auto-swerve" technology that will help drivers avoid collisions with pedestrians.

According to Ulrich Mellinghoff, head of safety development at Mercedes, the vast majority of impacts involving pedestrians affect just 20% of the vehicle's front area.  That means that a relatively small trajectory adjustment -- between 15 and 20 inches -- would be all that's needed to avoid those accidents.


Depending on trial results, the technology is expected to appear on Mercedes-Benz vehicles within the next five years. It will complement other safety enhancements like the company's Pre-Safe system as well as Attention Assist, Agility Assist, and other options.  Mellinghoff notes that Mercedes is making serious headway on occupant safety and points to the fact that his team hasn't "found a crash in which a Mercedes driver was seriously injured or killed in the past two years".

[WhatCar via VV]


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Comments (2)

  1. Tom Posted: 1/18/2010 5:53pm PST

    "hasn't "found a crash in which a Mercedes driver was seriously injured or killed in the past two years"." ok that's a huge statement and I'd be very interested to see the data backing it up. Is it only in cars less than 4 years old? Is it only in Germany?
     
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  2. richard avatar Richard Read Posted: 1/18/2010 6:41pm PST

    @Tom: I had similar questions. Since Mellinghoff was quoted in a British source, I thought he might've just been referring to the UK, but he issued the quote in the USA (at NAIAS), so I'm at a loss. I'm going to try to carve out some time and follow up on this soon.
     
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