Here is a video we found over at Mercedes-Benz TV’s YouTube.  The video discusses the Mercedes-Benz safety feature PRE-SAFE package.   Mercedes-Benz vehicles traditionally provide the highest standard of safety.  In this feature you will see how the PRE-SAFE package helps to meet this claim.  It utilizes Active Safety Systems such as ESP and radar sensors in order to identify these critical situations.  Based on accident research two-thirds of all accidents are preceded by skidding or breaking.  PRE-SAFE essentially provides the vehicle with reflexes in order to improve passenger protection.

This fall get ready to welcome the restyled 2011 CL-Class featuring state-of-the-art radar, camera, and sensor technology!  The CL-Class encompasses the latest and greatest of Mercedes-Benz safety technology including features like Attention Assist, Pre-Safe Brake with automatic emergency braking, and Night View Assist Plus with Pedestrian Detection.  Continue on to read what these features entail thanks to eMercedesBenz.

Active Lane Keeping Assist

Using a multi-purpose camera mounted in the windshield and a computer that analyzes the images, Active Lane Keeping Assist recognizes lane markings and alerts the driver by simulating rumble strip vibrations in the steering wheel (via an electric motor) if the car drifts from its lane unintentionally. Should the driver fail to react to this warning, the car intervenes by gently braking the wheels on the opposite side of the car. The unequal distribution of braking forces causes a yaw movement which helps the driver to stay in their lane. Active Lane Keeping Assist makes use of the existing ESP® (Electronic Stability Program) system to apply the brakes and maintain vehicle control.

Active Blind Spot Assist

The second innovation on the 2011 CL-Class, Active Blind Spot Assist, monitors both blind spots alongside the vehicle using close-range radar sensors. When a vehicle is detected, a yellow warning triangle is illuminated in the corresponding side-view mirror. Should the driver disregard this warning and activate the turn indicator, the warning triangle changes to red and an audible warning also sounds. If the driver continues to ignore these warnings and moves dangerously close to a neighboring vehicle, the system activates corrective braking intervention to the wheels of the opposite side of the vehicle. Like Active Lane Keeping Assist, the yaw movement helps correct the car’s path or minimize the consequences of a collision.

For full article click here.

Let’s put an end to distracted driving! This article has some startling facts about teen drivers and the use of cell phones.  I’m pretty sure we all can agree that we want to keep not just our teen drivers safe, but our entire family as well.  Please talk to your teens about safe driving habits. I propose we turn off the cell phone while in the car!

Cell Phones and Teen Drivers

By Joseph Devine

As teenagers get closer and closer to driving age, many parents are left wondering how they will be able to afford a new, high-cost insurance premium in order to ensure their new driver. Teenage drivers almost always face high insurance premiums because insurance companies see them as “high risk.” Statistically, inexperienced teen drivers are likely to engage in risky behaviors, leading to accidents due to:

• -  Seat belt use. Teens are the least likely of any age group to wear seat belts.
• -  Drunk driving. Teens are likely to engage in risky drinking behavior, or to share rides with another teenager who has been drinking.
• -  Hazard identification. Teens may underestimate the danger present in certain situations, and are less likely that older drivers to adequately assess dangerous situations and know how to properly handle them.

Extensive cell phone use is one high-risk behavior exhibited by teen drivers. Not only are teens likely to talk on their cell phones while driving, but they are also likely to send and receive text messages. Texting while driving is an increasingly common and highly dangerous behavior, since a person usually takes his or her eyes away from the road in order to read and type text messages.

Cell phone use while driving, especially texting while driving, can result in accidents with dire consequences. About 2,600 fatalities and 330,000 injuries each year can be attributed to cell phone distraction. Other startling facts about cell phone use include:

• -  Cell phone use dramatically slows a driver’s reaction times and mimics those of a drunk driver. Drivers speaking on cell phones are 18 percent slower to react to brake lights.
• -  More than half of all teens report that they have witnessed another driver texting.
• -  More than one-fourth of American teens aged 16 to 17 admit to texting while driving.
• -  43 percent of American teenagers aged 16 to 17 have talked on a cell phone while driving.

Parents, teachers, and other adults have a responsibility to talk to teenagers about dangerous driving behaviors. Adults should encourage teenagers to ensure their own safety and that of their friends and others on the road.

You can keep your teen’s car insurance rates low by talking with them about safe driving habits, such as never driving while texting or talking on the phone. In addition, insurance companies often provide discounts to good students, since high-performing students exhibit maturity and therefore are statistically less likely to get involved in accidents.

For more information about car insurance rates in the Chicago area, visit the website of Chicago car insurance agents Insure on the Spot.

Joseph Devine

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Devine
http://EzineArticles.com/?Cell-Phones-and-Teen-Drivers&id=3526700

We’ve got some exciting news!  The Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan earned 2010 top safety pick awards, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety!

The award recognizes the vehicles that earn the top rating of good for front, side, rollover and rear crash protection, and that have electronic stability control, which is standard on Mercedes-Benz E-Class models.  This is the first time the E-Class has earned the Institute’s Top Safety Pick award, which applies to all E-class models built since March 2010.  How many of you folks are driving around in our Top Safety Pick luxury sedan?

To read more about this click here.

Here is a an interesting video we found over at Mercedes-Benz TV. Mercedes-Benz is testing driverless cars with the assistance systems of the future. Using GPS and radio, the developers are constantly in touch with the automated cars keeping them safely on course. This automated assistance system will help gather important data to make driving even safer in the future. What do you think of Mercedes-Benz’s automated test driving?

In light of tomorrow being national “No Phone Zone” day (announced by Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Studios) here is an article we found on GoArticles.com written by Jack Landry that stresses the dangers of texting while driving.  Some experts even believe that texting while driving is worse than operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol! Let’s put an end to distracted driving!!! 

“Consider all the debate that has surrounded making cell phone calls while driving. It has led to laws against cell phones in cars because of the deaths they have caused.

But with the advent of texting, a new evil has arisen. Talking on a phone while driving is dangerous, but texting while driving has surpassed it in danger.

What makes it so much more dangerous than talking on a cell phone is the sheer distraction that it causes. When talking, your eyes can still be on the road and you have some control of your surroundings.

When sending messages, those comforts are swiped away. Your eyes are off the road and focused on the message or e-mail. Even if it is for 2 seconds, those are 2 seconds that you are not aware of your surroundings, and 2 seconds that could change your life.

Some experts say that texting is so risky that it is even more dangerous than drunken operation of a car. That is startling considering how many people die every year from careless drunk drivers.

In a 2009 study done by Car and Driver magazine, these results were found. Compared to being drunk while operating a vehicle, sending a message or e-mail had a farther stopping distance when put in a dangerous situation.

While this is one important study, other scientific articles about the dangers of texting while driving are surprisingly slim. The frequency of these articles will probably increase over time as the problem will become bigger and bigger.

To counteract the amount of deaths and tragedies by this problem, many countries and states in the United States have enacted laws that either ban or limit texting while operating a car. A few countries in the world have even banned all use of cell phones while driving, either talking or sending messages.”

To read the full article click here.

Image credit: Skirt.com

About the Author:

Jack Landry has been working in the technology/communications industry for 13 years and has written hundreds of articles on SMS marketing. He recommends (http://www.itextglobal.com) for your SMS marketing and communications needs.

Contact Info: Jack Landry jackrlandry@gmail.com http://www.itextglobal.com

Check out this short article we found over at PCWorld.  This cool new computer system is being built into some Mercedes-Benz models to make driving safer, smarter, and more eco-friendly.

“The innovative SplitView system in Mercedes-Benz S-Class and CL-Class automobiles provides personalized visual content to the car’s driver and front-seat passenger. While the driver adjusts the radio, navigation system, or other controls on the left side of the SplitView screen, passengers can watch a DVD video on the right side of the screen; a special filter permits each screen to be viewed only from certain angles so the driver is not distracted by the passengers’ movie or show. SplitView’s 8-inch active-matrix color display is integrated into the vehicle’s navigation, audio, and entertainment system.”

We’re excited that the Mercedes Benz SLK Class and the CLK Class made the list for J.D. Powers and Associates 2010 Vehicle Dependability Study in the Compact Premium Sporty Car category.  Mercedes Benz has started the year out right, with a number of awards, including Mercedes Benz USA being named the best place to work in New Jersey.  It’s nice to see that Mercedes Benz is continuing to be recognized as the incredible brand we believe it is.  To see who else made the 2010 Vehicle Dependability list, click here.

Mercedes Benz USA, headquartered in Montvale, NJ, announced a new plan for a concept car that features airbags that extend both inside and outside the car.  According to an article by NY 1, “The doors contain air-filled ‘pillars’ that can quickly inflate like airbags right before a crash, to create more cushion even before the force of the impact is able to reach inside the cabin.’”  In case of events like rollovers, the car features an “air wall” that pops up between the driver and passenger for extra protection.  Click here to read more about these new airbags, or head over to NY 1 for their Mercedes Benz video report.

Detroit News spotted the 2012 Mercedes Benz SL a full two years before it’s set to his the 2012 Paris Motor Show, and we’re lucky they did! This exclusive sneak peak at the 2012 Mercedes Benz SL has us really excited for it’s lease.  The 2012 SL maintains the car’s legendary classic layout, along with the retractable metal roof and long front and rear overhangs that have long been key features of this model. New to the 2012 Mercedes Benz SL is the upright grille, which came about due to pedestrian safety regulations in the European Union.  Also different to this model is it’s location.  Formerly production on Mercedes Benz SL models took place in Bremen, Germany, but the 2012 SL will be produced in Stuttgart.

What do you guys think of the 2012 Mercedes Benz SL?