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2.9. System of passive safety

Protection against side blow
Protection against head-on collision



One of long traditions of Mercedes-Benz is requirement of universal reliability imposed to each body during his long life in any extreme road and climatic conditions. Therefore already in laboratory the body is checked comprehensively. Long tests not only the bearing part of a body, but also such components as doors, a cowl, locks and the hatch in a roof belong to the test program. At vibration stands 70-hour running loadings which usually arise only after 200 000 km of a run on bad roads are created. Together with "road" tests of a design and detail of Mercedes "pass" a year about 25 million km in extreme road and climatic conditions. But it is not end in itself. On the first place — safety sitting in people.
In the field of safety of the vehicle new Mercedes-Benz the E-class meets the highest requirements. Thanks to the optimized structure of a body with big zones of deformation this car — the safest in the world.
Annually more than 100 bodies have to be exposed to tough emergency tests. At the same time the main types of accidents are checked:
1. Collisions like off-set (front) with counter transport at which 40% of a forward part of the car participate in collision. According to the statistics of accidents head-on collisions of this type — the most frequent.
2. Blow in a side part.
3. Accident with capsizing of the vehicle.
4. Collision with a heavy obstacle (trees, streetlights, trucks or buses).