Stuttgart, Dec 2, 2020 - The innovation made its preview in December 1980: the driver’s airbag and seat belt tensioner (originally termed the belt tightener) were in those days the latest, cutting-edge innovations in safety from Mercedes-Benz.

Stuttgart, Feb 20, 2018 - Safety is a core value of Mercedes-Benz vehicle. That is why the Stuttgart-based brand is continuously advancing the pioneering safety technology, such as the airbag.

Stuttgart, Aug 6, 2012 - 25 years ago Mercedes-Benz was the first automobile manufacturer in the world to introduce the front passenger airbag in a series-production car. The technology debuted in the S-Class (model series 126) at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September 1987. It elevated the safety standards in Mercedes-Benz passenger cars to a new level and thus represented yet another logical step by the pioneer in passive vehicle safety in a long line of outstanding innovations.

Stuttgart, Mar 26, 2012 - The Mercedes-Benz SL, W 113 series, launched in 1963, was the first sports car in the world with a safety body. It was designed so that the area impacted upon – both at the front and at the rear – would deform, thus reducing or completely dissipating the kinetic energy in the corresponding area. The vehicle interior, the actual passenger compartment, on the other hand, was designed to be rigid in order to act as a safety cell for the vehicle occupants.

Stuttgart, Feb 7, 2011 - In 1981 Mercedes-Benz was the world’s first automobile manufacturer to present the airbag and belt tensioner as restraint systems to the public in a series-production car. These two milestones in passive safety were premiered in a W 126-series S-Class Saloon at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show. At Mercedes-Benz, this began the introduction of the modern airbag as a passive safety feature into the entire passenger car range, with the airbag and belt tensioner already becoming available as optional extras for all Mercedes-Benz cars in 1982.

Stuttgart, Dec 20, 2010 - On 23 January 1951, Daimler-Benz AG registered a patent for the passenger car body with a passenger safety cell. This invention by Béla Barényi was granted Patent No. 845 157 with the title "Motor vehicle, specifically for personal transport". This was a trailblazing innovation, as it is still seen as the fundamental feature of passive automotive safety to this day. In 1959 the safety body with its rigid passenger cell entered series production for the first time in the Mercedes-Benz W 111 series (model 220b).

Stuttgart, Aug 20, 2009 - The first crash test in the history of Mercedes-Benz took place on 10 September 1959, when a test car was accelerated head-on towards a stationary obstacle. Safety research at the brand suddenly entered a new era.

Stuttgart, Jul 11, 2009 - Daimler-Benz AG first presented the new six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz 220, 220 S and 220 SE models in the fashionable fintail design at a press event on 11 August 1959. These were the first production passenger cars to feature safety bodies – having both a passenger cell with maximum stability (“rigid passenger compartment”) and front and rear crumple zones.

Stuttgart, Feb 15, 2009 - Daimler-Benz presented its dynamic handling control FDR, a system jointly developed with Bosch in Arjeplog in Sweden in mid March 1994. It had its market launch a year later under the name Electronic Stability Programme ESP® and represented a further milestone in the field of active safety.

Stuttgart, Jan 23, 2009 - On 23 January 1951, Daimler-Benz AG applied for patent number DBP 854 157, using the unadorned description of "Motor vehicles especially for the transportation of people". Behind this was concealed no less than the invention of the crumple zone. A patent which in the following decades revolutionised the entire automotive industry.

Stuttgart, Jul 1, 2008 - In August 1978 Mercedes-Benz presented the second-generation anti-lock braking system (ABS), developed together with Bosch, to the press in Untertürkheim. The world-first enables a driver to retain steering control even during emergency braking. From December the innovation became available, initially in the S-Class sedans (116 series).

Stuttgart, Oct 25, 2006 - <b>November 25, 1996</b> At the end of November 1996, Mercedes-Benz presented yet another contribution to the enhancement of road traffic safety: The Brake Assist (BAS).

Stuttgart, Sep 23, 2006 - <b>October 23, 1971</b> On October 23, 1971 Mercedes-Benz was granted a patent for a new system affording car occupants protection in an accident: the airbag.

Stuttgart, Feb 4, 2006 - <b>March 5 - 15, 1981</b> In 1981 the W 126 series Mercedes-Benz S-Class attracted a great deal of attention at the Geneva Motor Show: the airbag and belt tensioner – two passive safety innovations – were celebrating their world premiere in the flagship Mercedes model.

Stuttgart/Rovaniemi, Jan 5, 2006 - <b>February 3 - 8, 1986</b> Time and again, Daimler-Benz had been setting new standards in safe motoring. The list of innovations is a long one.

Stuttgart, Dec 26, 2005 - <b>January, 26, 1981</b> What is matter-of-course standard equipment on commercial vehicles from Mercedes-Benz today was a big step towards greater traffic safety in 1981: the first anti-lock braking system (ABS) for commercial vehicles.

Stuttgart, Dec 12, 2005 - <b> January 23, 1951</b> The safety cell for passenger cars was an epoch-making invention – for which Daimler-Benz filed a patent application on January 23, 1951.

Stuttgart, Dec 5, 2005 - <b> January 1, 1976<b> Wearing safety belts became compulsory in Germany on January 1, 1976 – on the front seats of passenger cars, to be precise, that is for driver and front passenger.

Stuttgart, Nov 11, 2005 - <b>December 12, 1970</b> In December 1970, Daimler-Benz introduced a technical innovation of groundbreaking significance to the international public: the first-generation anti-lock braking system.

Stuttgart, Apr 8, 2005 - <b>May 1995</b> Ten years ago, a milestone in active handling safety was incorporated in the large-scale production of the Mercedes-Benz S 600 coupe: the Electronic Stability Program, ESP.

Stuttgart, May 4, 2004 - <b>June 4, 1974:</b> Safety research has always been writ large at Mercedes-Benz. A major contribution to safety was rendered by the ESV 24 which continued the tradition of earlier Experimental Safety Vehicles.