Mercedes-Benz accident research has been working on product safety for 50 years. The idea to own an accident research investigation center was conceived due to the fact that in 1960s the number of accidents were increasing. The focus was on self- investigated accidents and affiliated data.

In 1969, the Ministry of the Interior provided the mandate for the legitimacy of such accident investigation. Under this mandate, in certain circumstances, the authorized police officials were entitled to report serious accidents involving current Mercedes- Benz vehicles to the accident research center and provide collected data. One of the first investigated vehicles was a W113, so called Pagode. Required investigation methods were developed immediately. The goal of in-depth investigation was to identify the contributing factors for accidents and injuries and derive possible requirements for research and development. Until 2018, more than 5000 accidents were investigated and reconstructed. Today, some of the major tasks of the accident research are accident-data-analyses and the benefit estimation for future safety systems and innovations.

Accident investigation and reconstruction has changed significantly during the years. Measuring lanes and traces with a tape measure, like it was done in the past, isn’t possible anymore due to more traffic on the roads. A modern 3D-laser scanner is being used for this purpose today.

Not only investigating the accident scene has changed, the vehicles themselves have changed significantly. Today, accident research aims at assessing the impact of modern advanced driver assistance systems along with investigating the crash worthiness. Therefore, interpreting all system functions is a new and important task. Modern accident reconstruction software applications can visualize the accident sequence, which can also help to relate the restraint system deployments.

This paper will be discussing the progress of available methods and introduce new approaches for future automated driving applications in road vehicles. 50 years of accident research = 50 years of improvements