Dedication
At Mercedes-Benz we have always been committed to making our cars as safe as possible. In fact, we've owned the patents on crash zones for over 50 years, and airbags for over 25.
That's the kind of long-term dedication to safety you simply won't find elsewhere
1939
First development of safety features in Mercedes-Benz Test Vehicle No. 11
1949
Mercedes-Benz safety door lock patented
1951
Daimler-Benz develops the first safety car body in the world
1959
First impact and roll-over tests
1961
Seatbelt anchorages as standard
1966
Development of a safety strategy which leads to the now well known concepts of active and passive safety
1967
Mercedes-Benz safety steering system developed
1968
Introduction of Mercedes-Benz head restraints
First tests with airbag systems
1969
Systematic investigation and analysis of traffic accidents introduced
1971
Seat belt buckle attached to seat frame
Concept design and further development of Experimental Safety Vehicles
1973
Inertia-reel seatbelts and head restraints on the front seats fitted as standard
First Mercedes-Benz offset crash test
1979
Seatbelts on all seats as standard
Three-stage height adjustment of seatbelts in the S-Class
1980
Daimler-Benz is the first manufacturer in the world to introduce the driver airbag in the steering wheel and the belt tensioner for the front passenger
1981
Research car Auto 2000 introduced to develop future safety systems
1984
Belt tensioners fitted as standard on the front seats
1987
Presentation of the first front passenger airbag at the Frankfurt Motor Show
1989
Presentation of the SL sports car with integral front seats and automatic roll-over bar
1990
The E-Class scores best marks in the 'auto motor und sport' crash test
1991
The S-Class sets new safety standards with its restraint systems, crumple zones and passenger cell design
1992
The one millionth car with an airbag system, a 200E, comes off the assembly line
A ten-year-old Mercedes is crash-tested to prove the airbag's operational reliability
1993
Driver airbag comes as standard; front passenger airbag is available for all model series
The offset crash against deformable barrier becomes a standard test in the development of new Mercedes-Benz cars
1994
Review of safety strategy. Focus on compatibility, i.e. protection of the occupants of the other car involved in an accident
Integral child safety seats become available first for the C-Class and then for virtually all model series
Front passenger airbag comes as standard
1995
Daimler-Benz is the world's first manufacturer to install higher-performance belt tensioners with integrated belt force limiters
S-Class fitted with side airbags as standard
1997
The newly launched A-Class sets new passive safety standards for cars in this category with its numerous innovative safety features
All Mercedes-Benz passenger cars are fitted with side airbags as standard
1991
Introduction of the newly developed window-bag and rear-seat side airbag
1999
Implementation of ESP as standard equipment in all vehiclesM
2002
World's first vehicle manufacturer to offer the PRE-SAFE preventive protection system
2004
Our engineers run around 500 tests with complete vehicles in the crash hall