Mercedes-Benz Exit Warning Function: More safety for everyone
October 19 2020,
When parking on a busy street, you forget how dangerous it can be for someone else to simply open the door to get out. In fact, if a bicycle, motorcycle, car or pedestrian is there at the same time, it can be fatal. That's why it's important to be extra careful in such circumstances.
However, we are all human and incidents of this kind can happen, despite the best of intentions.
The authorities have even gone there with awareness-raising campaigns. The word "dooring" has even been coined to describe the phenomenon. What more can be done?
Nothing, perhaps. However, technology can. At least that's what Mercedes-Benz believes, which has been looking into the matter. Its solution? The adaptation of a safety technology to reduce collisions that it already uses, namely the blind spot monitoring alert.
That's how the new Exit Warning function was born. It uses all the hardware of the existing system but remains operational for three minutes once the engine has been shut down.
As a result, even when the vehicle is stationary, blind spots are monitored. So, if a motorcycle, a cyclist or another car comes up to us, a visual alert appears in the rearview mirror, as it does when driving in traffic.
But that's not all, because the alert does not prevent the driver or occupant from opening the door. That's why a second level of protection has been added. For example, if the door handle is used, an additional audible warning will alert you. In addition, the ambient door lighting will turn red and start flashing. The objective is simple; to provide the occupant with a maximum number of signals (visual and audible) to avoid hitting someone when opening the door.
For Mercedes-Benz, this feature is the logical next step, an approach where everyone's safety is assured.
