When it comes to commercial vehicle safety, Mercedes-Benz is highly regarded as one of the forerunners. In another ‘industry first’, the German manufacturer has become the first manufacturer to offer Rescue Assist stickers for no extra cost across on the Mercedes-Benz Citan, Mercedes-Benz Vito and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter models.
This little sticker helps fire fighters and response teams locate vital vehicle components such as fuel tanks, airbags and electric cables in the event of an accident. Mercedes-Benz says this could save two precious minutes, which could prove the difference between life and death for the occupants.
Rescue Assist works when the rescue team ‘scans’ the sticker with an enabled smartphone or tablet, located on the driver and passenger side B-pillars on the Vito and Citan, and inside the fuel filler flap and on the B-pillar on the Citan.
This opens up a digital rescue card that shows all model details including the location of vital vehicle components. Mercedes-Benz says this is a valuable tool considering the increasing complexity of vehicle technology, with many additional factors now needing to be taken into account during the rescue stage.
If no mobile internet connection is available, the rescue services can also make use of an app specially developed for this purpose. This solution allows digital rescue cards to be called up offline from the device’s memory. The device memory can be updated with new and modified rescue cards at the touch of a button. The app will be available free of charge from 2015.
