Side air bags offer an additional protection to the occupant on the struck side. The structural behavior of the car, the interior door, and side wall trim all play a major role to enhance occupant safety in the variety of side impact collisions on the road. For individuals fatally injured in sideimpact collisions, the head region shows the largest percentage of injury - 58%, because of the large movement of the head resulting in massive contacts with vehicle or intruding parts. Furthermore, 48% of side impacts involving fatalities were single vehicle collisions into a pole or tree. To reduce the likelihood of severe or fatal injuries in these types of crashes, Daimler-Benz has developed with Autoliv Corporation a unique head protection system which is called the Window Bag. A new additional airbag system will provide enhanced protection in side impact collisions. The so-called Window Bag will be installed in some Mercedes cars beginning with the E-Class Sedan for the MY99 and in the new S-Class.
Samenvatting