Mercedes-Benz C-Class Operator's Manual page 62

Occupant safety
60
air bag must be deployed on time, at the start of
the collision.
The rate of vehicle deceleration or acceleration
and the direction of the force are essentially
determined by:
distribution of the force during the impact
R
collision angle
R
deformation characteristics of the vehicle
R
characteristics of the object with which the
R
vehicle has collided
Factors which can only be seen and measured
after the collision has occurred do not play a
decisive role in the deployment of an air bag, nor
do they provide an indication of air bag deploy-
ment.
The vehicle may be considerably deformed with-
out an air bag being deployed. This is the case if
only relatively easily deformable parts have
been hit and a high rate of deceleration has not
been reached. Conversely, an air bag may be
deployed even though the vehicle suffers only
minor deformation. This is the case if, for exam-
ple, very rigid vehicle parts such as the longitu-
dinal body members are hit in an accident and
the rate of deceleration is sufficient.
If the restraint system control unit detects a side
impact or that the vehicle is rolling over, the rel-
evant restraint system components are
deployed independently of one another depend-
ing on the anticipated type of accident.
Side impact air bags on the side of the colli-
R
sion, regardless of Emergency Tensioning
Device and use of the seat belt on the driver's
side and the outer seats on the second row
The side impact air bag on the front-
passenger side deploys under the following
conditions:
the OCS system detects that the front-
-
passenger seat is occupied or
the belt tongue has engaged in the belt
-
buckle of the front-passenger seat.
Window curtain air bag on the side of the col-
R
lision, regardless of seat belt use and whether
front-passenger seat is occupied
Front Emergency Tensioning Devices, if the
R
system determines that they can offer addi-
tional protection for the vehicle occupants in
this situation
Rear Emergency Tensioning Devices in cer-
R
tain situations if the vehicle rolls over
Window curtain air bags on the driver's and
R
front-passenger sides in certain rollover sit-
uations if the system determines that they
can offer additional protection to that provi-
ded by the seat belt
i
Not all air bags are deployed in an accident.
The various air bag systems work independ-
ently of each other.
How the air bag system works is determined
by the severity of the accident detected,
especially the vehicle deceleration or accel-
eration, and the apparent type of accident:
frontal collision
R
side impact
R
rollover
R
®
PRE-SAFE (anticipatory occupant
protection system)
Introduction
®
PRE-SAFE takes preemptive measures to pro-
tect occupants in certain hazardous situations.
Important safety notes
!
Make sure that there are no objects in the
footwell or behind the seats. There is a danger
that the seats and/or objects could be dam-
aged when PRE-SAFE
Despite your vehicle being equipped with the
®
PRE-SAFE system, the possibility of personal
injuries occurring as a result of an accident can-
not be eliminated. Always adapt your driving
style to suit the prevailing road and weather
conditions and maintain a safe distance from
the vehicle in front. Drive carefully.
Function
®
PRE-SAFE intervenes:
in emergency braking situations, e.g. when
R
BAS is activated
in critical driving situations, e.g. when physi-
R
cal limits are exceeded and the vehicle under-
steers or oversteers severely
vehicles with the Driving Assistance package:
R
when a driver assistance system intervenes
powerfully or the radar sensor system detects
an imminent danger of collision in certain sit-
uations
®
is activated.