Mercedes-Benz has adopted the Vision Zero strategy, pledging to eventually eliminate all road fatalities and serious injuries among Mercedes car owners. The company believes the goal is not achievable until 2050 – largely due to the infrastructural changes needed.
In the meantime, Mercedes plans to keep improving its driving aids to let cars react faster and smarter to challenging situations. For one thing, it is designing a new electronic system underpinned by a single control unit (ECU) governing all assists at once. Centralization should make decision-making based on real-time data quicker than ever.
As well, the company is preparing a ‘Traffic Safety Panel’ that will enable its cars to identify and react to the most problematic spots in the transport infrastructure of cities. Electronic systems will analyze the situation and want the driver about a particularly dangerous stretch of road ahead to let them prepare and concentrate. Tests are already running in London.
The year 2030 will represent a milestone of sorts. By that year, Mercedes-Benz plans to have cut accident rates involving its cars by half compared to 2020.