Photo: Mercedes-Benz
It seems that manufacturers are finding more and more places to put airbags. After the much-appreciated knee airbag is now spreading and being adopted by more and more manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz has announced the introduction of a new and even stranger type of airbag, which we will affectionately dub ‘Beltbag’.
It is, as its name suggests, an airbag built into the seatbelt - in fact, the seatbelt itself is the airbag. How is this useful? Well, as it inflates (in the event of a crash) it considerably increases its surface nearly three times, in order to better dissipate the forces which build up during accidents.
While Mercedes-Benz is not the first manufacturer to employ such a safety gadget (being third, after Ford and its Explorer and the Lexus LFA), it is nevertheless different as it is the only one of the three which only uses the beltbag to protect rear occupants. Another difference is the fact that while the other two cars inflate their belts during both side and frontal impacts, the Mercedes version will only deploy in the event of a frontal crash only.
Furthermore, considering the fact that Mercedes usually debuts their most advanced and latest technologies every time they launch a new S-Class, we can assume, with a fair degree of conviction that they will be debuting them on the aforementioned car, when it arrives, early next year.
While Mercedes-Benz is not the first manufacturer to employ such a safety gadget (being third, after Ford and its Explorer and the Lexus LFA), it is nevertheless different as it is the only one of the three which only uses the beltbag to protect rear occupants. Another difference is the fact that while the other two cars inflate their belts during both side and frontal impacts, the Mercedes version will only deploy in the event of a frontal crash only.
Furthermore, considering the fact that Mercedes usually debuts their most advanced and latest technologies every time they launch a new S-Class, we can assume, with a fair degree of conviction that they will be debuting them on the aforementioned car, when it arrives, early next year.
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