MTrauman

Well I am not sure how to begin since I am still very shaken up at the moment. My new '14 S550 4matic now is a pile of twisted metal while only 5 hours ago I had just gotten her all washed and driving with the sunroof open on my way home from the office. And I must say I AM ALIVE.


A vehicle literally ran me off a major interstate highway at highway speeds and I crunched my car into some very big trees at 50-55 mph with my car ending up suspended on top of one of the big trees I smacked into. There is much more to this story but I need to make sure the insurance companies deal with this before I comment too much.


The airbags and the MBrace system worked flawlessly. MBrace came on and talked to me while I was buried far into brush and trees that you could not see the car from the interstate and I could not get out of the vehicle easily since trees and brush completely surrounded the car. I may write more about this in time but I am very shaken up at the moment. If you do not pay for the MBrace system you are crazy for spending $100k on an S Class and won't spend the money on MBrace. MBrace is AWESOME!


It is yet to be seen from the insurance perspective but the tow truck driver told me he tows wrecks all day long and he virtually guarantees the car is totaled. My $120k is a mess. I am soo upset about the accident and the car being wrecked AND the situation that caused the accident. With all of that said, I AM ALIVE and thank god for Mercedes Benz safety features since they are allowing me to type this tonight.

LovinMercedes

MTrauman, I am really glad you are doing well. I am sure this experience was very traumatic and I am certainly glad you are well enough to write about it.

Please take time to relax, as I am sure this will stick with you for a while.

I am very glad to hear that MB performed well but most importantly, I am really glad you are well.

Sounds like you had someone looking out for you.

wilassasin

Glad to hear that you are okay man, saving a life is probably the best benefit of driving these German tanks.

Wolfman

I am glad you are doing well!

It's during these rare occasions where the car really proves its worth; to preserve human life...

Who cares if it's totaled. It's just metal and you can always get a nicer one.

Take care!

Corey140

Glad you are ok and I'm awaiting to hear your story about mbrace.

ajm0623

yeah. glad you're ok. to hell with the car. it's just a piece of metal. and can be replaced. you cannot. so. yay! when you're ready to tell more, let us know where it happened! my guess is the dangerous s-curve on i79 just south of the big (neville island) bridge (by any chance?).

AND i second your comment about mbrace. definitely a must have. i have needed it several times over the last x years, and it has always been a worthwhile resource. however, in the spirit of full and fair disclosure: i was *slightly* put off this year when i found out that on my $122,000 msrp '15 s, i was told i would have to buck up for mbrace. in my past, my s classes came with it free. and from what i understand, going forward from '16 onward - it will be free again. but based on my experiences in the past, i will always have it. irrespective of price. it's a small price to pay for the protection it provides. and de minimis in the grand scheme.

so - here's to healing well, my friend. and quickly. and let us all know if you'll replace the 14 with a 16 or if will you stray from the brand to something else. hmmmmmm. i bet you won't! after all, the s-class car saved your life!

Donald_S

Glad to hear you are alive and well (albeit a little shaken up)! As others have said, the car can be replaced, but not a life!

icebeam

Glad to hear that you are ok. I echo the comments of getting checked up as some things can show several days later.

AppleFan1

Oh my God! I just now saw and read your experience. I am SO happy that you came out of this horrible accident in good shape. It's awesome to hear that MBrace and all the other safety features on the S550 worked so well. We will all be waiting for more details, but you must take care of first things first. You have my best wishes!

MTrauman

The location you pointed out is not the location of the accident. And because of the circumstances of the accident I will not disclose anything about the accident as legal issues are attached to this since this forum can be open to discovery. Let me just say, in my opinion an aggressive driver ran me off the road at highway speeds and my insurance company will be attempting to get the other drivers insurance company to pay for my claim--enough said here.


Not sure yet what I will do about a '15 or '16 S Class but it will be a new S550 4matic. I have had numerous S Class cars over the past 15 years. I will not stray from the brand for my 4 door luxury auto.


All of us S class owners should feel confident (but not over confident) about driving in one of the safest vehicles in the world. Remember no vehicle can save all drivers/occupants in accidents so everyone please drive safe.

ajm0623

yeah. that's cool. i totally respect all that. best wishes with getting everything sorted to your satisfaction. cheers.

jrpisha

Soo sorry to learn of your accident. Thank goodness you're ok - your car did it's job protecting you.

Interested to hear more details when you can talk about it. It's always been my biggest fear on the road - getting hit by some nutjob street racing or otherwise driving like an idiot. That's why I sold my motorcycle a few years ago.

Hang in there...

WEBSRFR

So glad you are safe! As much as you are shaken up about the accident, the car can be replaced easily.

+1 for MBrace and I personally think having front and rear dash cams is also a must so if some idiot causes an accident they won't have a leg to stand on when you show them the video.

hyperion667

uhhhggg!


glad to read you are doing okay, man what a mess!!


good luck to you and I'll be hoping for good results in catching the fawker that ran you off the road..........people are frakking shameless!!!


things can only keep getting better

dbldpr

Glad to hear that you made it out alive and you are ok. Hope everything goes well with the insurance co.

BenzV12

I was off only for two days and look at what happened at W222 Forums , too much activity for a narrow window of time .
Anyway, glad you are OK and the car proved to be a tough shell against such calamities , hopefully your next car will never get into any situation where your current car was forced to unleash it's proven abilities to save your life
Sorry, too much verbiage but my best wishes for you

MTrauman

Never thought I would be buying a new W222 after only having my '14 for 17 months. In any event, the next decision is to buy a '15 or order a '16. Thankfully I have other vehicles to cover me without having an S Class for a few months during the order cycle.


I drove by (actually my wife drove me by) the area where the accident happened on Wednesday. I am more lucky then I even thought. To the right of where my car landed there was a decent sized ravine/gully and to the left there also was a ravine/gully. Atleast where my totaled S550 drove off the road it was flat all the way from the edge of the road until I stopped with my car suspended on a tree. WOW was I lucky! Thanks be to God!

MTrauman

In my post I just posted, I should have added a thanks to all of you on this board that have given me well wishes. Thanks to all of you for your kind words.


I can tell this is a life altering event. Atleast from a mental standpoint. Luckily not from a physical standpoint. I do not even want to drive on the interstate where the accident happened that I have driven for over 20 years back and forth to work everyday. This is a MENTAL life changing event for me. All of you tell your love ones often that you love them. Life can be over in an instant. Thankfully it was not my time to go home.

Streamliner

So happy to hear you are well after that horrific crash.
Whenever I think about switching my daily driver, I think about the safety features of the 222 and I decide to stay put in my S550.

Streamliner

I have suggested to MB, on several occasions, that they offer front, rear and even side view cameras that record everything going on around the car while driving. The system would be optional, of course. How expensive could something like that be these days? Such a system might even record speeds of other vehicles, which could come in so handy in the event of an accident.

MTrauman

Couple of pictures showing the final tree my car hit that "V'ed" the front end.

Diesel Benz

^^^^ likewise ^^^^ I'm sure everyone at the forum agrees, be it a result of the 222 safety or higher guidance at whatever combination.

By the way, cars damaged like this are typical for restoration in Eastern Europe, usually coming from Germany after an autobahn accident (I would avoid one though).

hyperion667

hole sh*t!!!!!!


that is amazing, guess it's time to configure another car

WEBSRFR

I have a feeling they are dragging their feet for liability reasons. Imagine Mercedes or a carmaker being sued by an aggrieved party for the video recordings after an accident. I think they let third parties handle this so they don't have direct liability over the functionality or the video footage but who knows with all the cameras around all it takes is one car manufacturer to offer it and they will all jump in.

The one thing car manufacturers can do in the meantime is to have a switch and unswitched power source near the rearview mirror that you can tap into. This is going to make a dash cam installation so much easier. My car had an "available" power drop in the rear view mirror enclosure and it made the installation so much easier. But if not you can always use the OBD port to get power.

I'd personally not own a car without a front and rear dash cams. If any idiot causes an accident around me while I am driving, whether I am directly affected by it or not, I am going to go out of my way to make sure they are completely screwed If anyone is thinking of getting a dash cam, resolution and nighttime capability is everything so you can get license numbers from the recordings if needed.

So glad the OP is safe. This is partly the reason why I have always liked driving larger, heavier, well built cars. Are you going to replace with the exact same car?

MTrauman

After this incident, I am seriously going to look for front and rear dash cams.


Yes I am replacing the '14 S550 4matic with a '16 S550 4matic. I had thought about doing a custom interior like "Lovin" had done but since I now have a need for a 4 door sedan, I cannot wait the extra time for a custom build.


So attached is my proposed 2016 build.