Mercedes' rear-seat safety innovation

It might sound like some new X-games-inspired adrenalin sport but ‘Beltbag’ is in fact the latest life-saving technology from safety innovator Mercedes-Benz.

First seen in Benz’s ESF 2009 Experimental Safety Vehicle and due to go into production in an as yet unnamed luxury-class model, Beltbag promises improved protection for rear-seat passengers.

The company says the Beltbag was developed with a particular view toward new markets, such as China and Russia, where there’s a much higher rear seat occupancy rate. 
 
As such it’s expected the technology will debut in the new W222 S-Class, which launches in Europe in mid-2013 and arrives here in the fourth quarter of the same year.

The inflatable seat-belt strap is said to reduce the risk of injury to passengers in the rear in a head-on collision by lessening the strain placed on the ribcage.

It is used in exactly the same way as a conventional seat belt but, when crash sensors detect a severe frontal impact, the airbag control unit triggers the Beltbag’s deployment and inflation.

A gas generator inflates the multi-layered belt strap to nearly three times its normal width, the resulting larger surface area better able to distribute the belt force on the seat occupant, thereby reducing the risk of injury.

“Mercedes-Benz is pursuing its safety initiative in the rear of vehicles with the Beltbag,” said Prof. Dr.-Ing. Rodolfo Schöneburg, Head of Passive Safety and Vehicle Functions at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

“After all, the excellent standard of safety offered by Mercedes-Benz doesn’t just apply to all model series, but to all seats, too.”

The company says there are no plans to introduce the technology to the front of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, since airbags are standard across its range.

Stop Press, July 26: Mercedes-Benz Australia advises that the company is not claiming to have invented the concept. The importer does, however, state that there are some minor differences between the device developed by Benz and that offered by Ford in the US-market Explorer and by Lexus in the LF-A. Jerry Stamoulis, Manager for Corporate Communications at Mercedes-Benz Australia, has told motoring.com.au that there are some "tests and simulations with the virtual human models" that are "unique and a confirmed first".

And from the press release: "Because dummy measurement technology is not capable of quantifying the benefits resulting from a wider belt strap, such as the lower force exerted on occupants, the safety experts at Mercedes have also been working intensely with virtual human models, as such computer-generated models make it possible to obtain detailed findings on the biomechanical strain during a collision."

According to Mr Stamoulis, more will be revealed closer to the launch of the technology in a production vehicle.

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