Mercedes Benz has brought road safety awareness to Ahmedabad by inaugurating ‘Safe Roads’, a unique Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, as part of the multi-city awareness road-show that started in New Delhi, earlier this year.

Safe Roads was inaugurated at L.D. College of Engineering, Ahmedabad by Jochen Feese, Head of Accident Research, Sensor Functions and Pedestrian Protection, Mercedes-Benz Cars, Manu Saale, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz R&D India (MBRDI) and Parthiv Shah, General Manager, Computational Engineering, MBRDI.

The exhibition will have demonstrations of various safety measures that can save lives during road accidents:

The Belt-Slide exhibit enables visitors to experience the impact of seat belts in a simulated crash environment at low speed. The aim is to increase the percentage of seat belts usage for front row passengers including driver.

Airbags will also be on display (driver and passenger airbags, curtain airbags, knee bags, etc.).
A ‘Body in White’ (BiW) passenger car exhibit highlights some of the core elements of a car structure which have high tensile strength that can absorb most of the energy during a crash and minimize passenger car intrusions.

Alcohol goggles on display also provide a unique experience. Wearing these special types of glasses simulates the common ‘walk-the-line’ activity which causes loss of balance and delayed reaction times. Visitors will feel their susceptibility to impairments and realize the potential severe consequences due to alcohol consumption.

A highlight of the show will be the original ESF (Experimental Safety) vehicle. The ESF 2009 will be on display to showcase a glimpse of future of safety. The ESF illustrates trailblazing innovations in the field of safety like PRE-SAFE, Braking Bag, Interactive Vehicle Communication, etc., some of which have already found their introduction into current products.

After Ahmedabad, the Safe Roads initiative will travel to Pune, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.