drksuh

First of all, I believe God sent an angel and guided my car into the cushioning of the diesel tank of the 18 wheeler that pulled across both lanes of the 4 lane divided highway I was traversing at 63mph. If we had hit the trailer part, the airbags would have never deployed AND we would have been decapitated.

The crumple zones absorbed impact perfectly. The airbags(front only) deployed perfectly. The engine did not insult the cabin. The antilock brakes helped me steer even though I locked down on the brakes. All these are Mercedes innovations we hope we never have to use. But they work. These innovations but mainly the Lord God Almighty saved me and my family from death. I walked away with multiple bruises but no fractures. My 8 year old has a nondisplaced elbow fracture. My wife has a fractured toe. I bought the Mercedes to protect them, and it did.

CharlyE500

WOW ! Thanx GOD !!! Also thats why I also have an E500 !
Wish you the best !

BobbyT

These are great cars. My wife got rear-ended in our 2006 E350, causing $15,000 damage, and her only injury was a bruise from the seat belt. Princess Di's crash is to me the epitome of how great Mercedes safety systems are, if one uses them--the survivors did, Princess Di and Dodi did not.

Greg_S

The reason I've owned 5 E's in my adult life is because being in a 76 300D (E class) when I was 16 and fell asleep behind the wheel and hit a tree doing 50mph saved my life too.

Great cars and happy that we can both write about them.

locomercedes

Wow! Glad to hear you and your family are ok. Yes,we have one of the safest vehicles on the road and it did what its supposed to. So much talk about depreciation, high maintenance cost , etc, I'll tell you, stories like this make me appreciate my car even more, for its safety alone... No doubt about it, we have one of the safest, if not the safest vehicle on the road:


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/bu...rint&position=


From Consumer Rports.org: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...4_iihs_ovr.htm

Driver fatality risks vary by vehicle
IIHS report shows the best and worst vehicles in real-world driver safety

Lowest rates of driver death
Fewer than 20 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years for 2001-2004 model year. Make & model Rates per million
Chevrolet Astro 7
Infiniti G35 11
BMW 7 Series 11
Toyota 4Runner 13
Audi A4/S4 quattro 14
Mercedes Benz E-Class 14
Toyota Highlander 14
Mercedes-Benz M-Class 14
Toyota Sienna 17
Honda Odyssey 17
Lexus ES330 18
Lexus RX330 18
Toyota Sequoia 18
Honda Pilot 19
BMW X5 19

MBNUT1

I am happy to hear that your Mercedes did it's job.
My father's life was saved 45 years ago as a result of Mercedes rigid passenger compartment philosophy and design when he was hit broadside at an intersection. It is one of the reason's why I love these cars.

W211 BEAST

My friend got into a car crash in an E class and the car flipped three times and slided along the floor upside down. Came out with minor scratches. If it wasnt for the side curtain air bags his head would have gotten crushed under the car.

When I'm in my car I feel totally safe.

benz_addict

glad to hear you and your family are OK. Glad to see the car did it's job. Glad to see you believe in Mercedes!!

KYBENZ

Seeing the damage that these cars have sustained when they come into our body shop and then meeting the people who in most cases walked away from said damage makes me glad that I am behind the wheel of one of these marvels of safety engineering everyday.
So glad that you and yours were too.

gaazmon

My friend was driving 70 mph on the 101 N bound right by the hayvenhurst exit at 1:00 AM. There were two cars with their headlights off cause they hit each other. The car in front of my friend swirved out of the way. Then he just saw the hit car staring at him. He hit the brake and held onto the wheel for dear life. He came out with a few bruises on his chest and scratches on his face. The first thing the cop sayed when he helped him out was "how the **** are you still alive?" He had a 95 C220, that thing saved his life. This is the difference between a Benz and any other car make in it's class.

HELL ONA HARLEY

Glad to hear you and your family came out of it O.K.... When I see pic's like this with stories of survival, its makes the cost of these cars more than money well spent. Good luck and hope your next one treats you as good as this one did.

drksuh

Thanks to all for the thoughts and prayers. I am planning on getting another Mercedes of course. I am leaning towards a S550 4Matic. These are among the safest cars ever made.

Safety is priceless. People who disrespect Mercedes simply have no comprehension of just how safety conscious this company is and how good their cars really are. The integrity of sharing their safety technology has saved thousands of lives.

spclagent7

Amazing. Best wishes to you and your family.

155

Safety was one of the key reasons why I picked up the E class. Glad to hear you and your family are well! Best wishes

Diesel Benz

I picked up this post for my reply because I'm afraid it was not supposed to mean what I could read out of it. I mean one should never feel completely safe even in an MB in the sense that one considers any way of driving would be safe.

I'm sure the comment was supposed to mean that one can feel a lot safer in an MB than many other cars.

There was a reference to an E-class crash where the driver did not survive. He hit a truck at an autobahn, the speedo had jammed after the crash, showing 250 km/h.

A bit of good luck helps, a good deal of bad luck (not referring to the above case, that is not a question about luck) can hurt on an MB too. But you don't have to rely on luck as much on an MB than an average car for sure.

The main point anyway is that the OP and his family are OK, that was very good news!

Polar Bear

Glad to hear that and thanks for posting. Yes, God was looking out for you.

philfna

I am so glad you and your family is safe and ok.

MB Fanatic

Thank god you are ok. It looks like it may be time to replace the E500 wth a new E550 or S550.

saffrontiger

It's been a while since I've been active on this forum but your post caught my attention. Thank god you and your family are well. Truly a blessing. Take care, be safe!
All the best
Jay

drksuh

Yes, MB Fanatic, I have had the last 3 versions of the E class but since the new one comes out in one year and the glowing reviews including safety regarding the S class, I am leaning towards an S550 4Matic.

FIDDY-SEVEN

Glad to see you and your family is OK after that !!!

I guess it's true on what they say - "you cant put a price on safety".. I wonder how a Honda or other similar cars would have held up ?

I have seen the end result of a Semi rear ending an older model E Class on the freeway... The E-Class's trunk was completeley smashed into the rear back rest of the front driver and passenger seats - basically making a 4 door car into a 2 door coupe with no trunk. The Benz driver had back pain and a possible broken leg - but that was it...

That is what sold me on the Benz...

Drive safe everyone...

GreekE500

Man i'm glad to hear everyone got out with only bruises. Good luck with a replacement Great deals going on now!

chairman

We were rear ended in our E320 in NYC by a cab. No damage to mention, no injuries. These things are amazing.

dagooaz

Praise the Lord your family is okay. God Bless you and your family.

csumt76

My g/f freaks out if I'm driving a little crazy or end up jamming the brakes for a car suddenly stopping in front of me. I remind her that we are in a Mercedes and that everything is going to be ok.