Conquer Winter with Mercedes-Benz

Winter weather poses additional risks to drivers. Reduced visibility and traction can create dangerous conditions. If you live somewhere that experiences ice, snow, and freezing rain, the risks are even greater. It’s important to practice additional safety, keep up with your vehicle’s maintenance, and stay alert all year long, but even more so during the winter. However, Mercedes-Benz models offer an entire suite of driver assistance features, collision-resistant vehicle construction, and technologies that increase traction in adverse conditions. The Mercedes-Benz of Silver Spring team is here to break down some of the best safety features from Mercedes-Benz to protect you and your family when the roads get slippery this winter.

Premium Traction Technology

Slippery winter road conditions require extra care while driving, but Mercedes-Benz models feature intelligent technology features to make it easier to navigate situations with reduced traction. Mercedes-Benz’s Intelligent All-Wheel Drive is available on the GLA, GLB, GLE, A-Class, E-Class, C-Class, and more. This advanced system can send power to the wheels with the most traction. Standard features like 4-wheel ABS, electronic brake distribution, brake assist, and hill start assist all offer support without being invasive. The tire pressure monitoring system will alert you if one of your tires has low pressure, which can affect braking, handling, and traction. Traction Control utilizes the sensors and systems already equipped in the vehicle to reduce understeer or oversteer, both of which can result in an accident. All of these features are so responsive that drivers don’t even notice how much they contribute to the smooth handling and drive of Mercedes-Benz models.

Active Safety Features

For 2021, the available Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive improves upon previous generations, including safety features designed to prevent avoidable accidents, as well as react to the avoidable ones. Thanks to industry-leading autonomous driving technology, radar, and cameras, it's never been safer to drive a new Mercedes-Benz.

• PRE-SAFE®¹ – Using a radar system and camera mounted at the front of the vehicle, this feature can detect potential frontal collisions with vehicles, pedestrians, or bicycles. It can respond by tightening the seatbelts, closing the windows, and adjusting the head restraints, all helping to minimize injuries. 
• Active Lane Keeping Assist² – By monitoring the markings, curbs, and road edges using the forward-facing camera, the Active Lane Keeping Assist feature can notify you when you deviate from your lane. It can even make steering adjustments when needed.
• Adaptive High Beam Assist – Never blind oncoming drivers again. Adaptive High Beam Assist can sense headlights from oncoming and preceding vehicles and autonomously switch between high and low beams when necessary.
• ATTENTION ASSIST³ – By monitoring your driving patterns, this feature can detect when you’re inattentive and suggest that you take a break.
• Active Blind Spot Assist⁴ – Using radar sensors mounted on the rear of the vehicle, the Active Blind Spot Assist system can detect cars in your blind spot. When a vehicle is detected there by the system, it will notify the driver.

Passive Safety Features

In addition to the driver assistance features available on many models, passive safety features are quietly working behind the scenes and keeping you and your passengers safe. Robust frames and seatbelts that work in concert with other advanced safety technology are just the beginning. Mercedes-Benz has also added systems that enhance brake and handling performance for safety. These features inspire driving confidence that can help you tackle a variety of road conditions.

• Electronic Stability Program⁵ – In instances of strong oversteer or understeer while cornering, the Electronic Stability Program helps to regain and maintain predictability.
• 4-wheel Electronic Traction System (4-ETS)⁵ – This system keeps your drive wheels planted in the event of excessive throttle input on surfaces like ice, mud, and wet roads.
• Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)⁶ – ABS keeps your wheels from locking up when brakes are applied heavily, making sure your vehicle comes to a stop when you need it to.
• Active Brake Assist⁷ – During emergency braking, Active Brake Assist may step in to help drivers stop in time by adding additional brake force.

 

Prevention and Protection

Mercedes-Benz has always been dedicated to protecting its customers, and thanks to some amazing advancements in safety technology, your Mercedes-Benz isn’t just built for luxury and style. It’s also built to protect you, your family, other motorists, and pedestrians in revolutionary ways. For more information about the automaker's innovations in safety technology or to see these features in action for yourself, contact the team at Mercedes-Benz of Silver Spring today or visit our showroom at 3301 Briggs Chaney Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20904.

¹PRE-SAFE closes the side windows when the system´s sensors detect side movements that suggest a possible rollover or side impact. A small gap is left near the fully closed position.

²Driving while drowsy or distracted is dangerous and must be avoided. Lane Keeping Assist may be insufficient to detect a fatigued or distracted driver or driver inattention. It cannot be relied on to avoid an accident or serious injury. See Operator's Manual for system's operating speeds and additional information and warnings.

³Driving while drowsy or distracted is dangerous and must be avoided. ATTENTION ASSIST may be insufficient to alert a fatigued or distracted driver of lane drift and cannot be relied on to avoid an accident or serious injury.

⁴Active Blind Spot Assist may not be sufficient to avoid all accidents involving vehicles in your blind spot and cannot predict the movement of other vehicles. It should not be used as a substitute for driver awareness and checking of surrounding traffic conditions. See Operator's Manual for system's operating speeds and additional information and warnings.

⁵No system, regardless of how advanced, can overcome the laws of physics or correct careless driving. Please always wear your seat belt. Performance is limited by available traction, which snow, ice and other conditions can affect. Always drive carefully, consistent with conditions. Best performance in snow is obtained with winter tires.

⁶Braking effectiveness also depends on proper brake maintenance, and tire and road conditions.

⁷Active Brake Assist may not be sufficient to avoid an accident. It does not react to certain stationary or suddenly moving objects or pedestrians, may not react in certain situations where objects cannot be clearly identified, nor does it recognize or predict the curvature and/or lane layout of the road or every movement of vehicles and pedestrians ahead. It is the driver's responsibility at all times to be attentive to traffic and road conditions, and to provide the steering, braking and other driving inputs necessary to retain control of the vehicle. Drivers are cautioned not to wait for the system's alerts before braking, as that may not afford sufficient time and distance to brake safely. See Operator's Manual for system's operating speeds and additional information and warnings.

Image Credit: Mercedes-Benz