Abstract
Keywords: Vehicle Safety, Occupant Protection, Partner Protection, Commercial Vans, Daimler.
In the van sector too, the holistic safety philosophy known to Mercedes-Benz is the development principle of a particularly high level of traffic safety. The Mercedes-Benz safety philosophy is chiefly based on the following four pillars:
Safe driving: Driving safety, physiological and operating safety, perceptual safety, emergency warning and sensitisation, load protection and driver training. In this respect, the new Sprinter has numerous drive dynamics control systems and exemplary ergonomics. The new Sprinter has been awarded the first "Safetyplus" safety certificate for vans by DEKRA.
In critical driving situations: Assistant systems that help the driver to avoid accidents or reduce accident severity.
In the event of an accident: As with the predecessor, special consideration has again been given to "passive safety" in the new Sprinter. The new Sprinter also sets a benchmark in this discipline in its segment. The proven concept has been pursued further and a combination of frame and integral construction, known as integral frame construction, has been implemented. To implement this concept, a host of component and full vehicle tests were carried out. To monitor type diversity, mathematical simulation was used in a targeted manner. A resilient vehicle structure is the basis for a high level protection of occupants and other partners. In terms of passive safety, this means a stable passenger cell with coordinated energy-absorbing crumple zones and correspondingly coordinated restraint systems. When developing the new Sprinter, special attention was paid to the load-securing equipment. A wide range of securing equipment is available as standard or as optional extras.
Post-accident: Preventing consequential damage, ease of locatability, ensuring and accelerating rescue. A rescue guideline for vans has been written by Mercedes-Benz for the first time.