A few of the safety innovations, from the MB UK website

1939

First development of safety features in Mercedes-Benz Test Vehicle No. 11



1949

Mercedes-Benz safety door lock patented



1951

Daimler-Benz develops the first safety car body in the world



1959

First impact and roll-over tests



1961

Seatbelt anchorages as standard



1966

Development of a safety strategy which leads to the now well known concepts of active and passive safety



1967

Mercedes-Benz safety steering system developed



1968

Introduction of Mercedes-Benz head restraints

First tests with airbag systems



1969

Systematic investigation and analysis of traffic accidents introduced



1971

Seat belt buckle attached to seat frame

Concept design and further development of Experimental Safety Vehicles



1973

Inertia-reel seatbelts and head restraints on the front seats fitted as standard

First Mercedes-Benz offset crash test



1979

Seatbelts on all seats as standard

Three-stage height adjustment of seatbelts in the S-Class



1980

Daimler-Benz is the first manufacturer in the world to introduce the driver airbag in the steering wheel and the belt tensioner for the front passenger



1981

Research car Auto 2000 introduced to develop future safety systems



1984

Belt tensioners fitted as standard on the front seats



1987

Presentation of the first front passenger airbag at the Frankfurt Motor Show



1989

Presentation of the SL sports car with integral front seats and automatic roll-over bar



1990

The E-Class scores best marks in the 'auto motor und sport' crash test



1991

The S-Class sets new safety standards with its restraint systems, crumple zones and passenger cell design



1992

The one millionth car with an airbag system, a 200E, comes off the assembly line

A ten-year-old Mercedes is crash-tested to prove the airbag's operational reliability



1993

Driver airbag comes as standard; front passenger airbag is available for all model series

The offset crash against deformable barrier becomes a standard test in the development of new Mercedes-Benz cars



1994

Review of safety strategy. Focus on compatibility, i.e. protection of the occupants of the other car involved in an accident

Integral child safety seats become available first for the C-Class and then for virtually all model series

Front passenger airbag comes as standard



1995

Daimler-Benz is the world's first manufacturer to install higher-performance belt tensioners with integrated belt force limiters

S-Class fitted with side airbags as standard



1997

The newly launched A-Class sets new passive safety standards for cars in this category with its numerous innovative safety features

All Mercedes-Benz passenger cars are fitted with side airbags as standard



1991

Introduction of the newly developed window-bag and rear-seat side airbag



1999

Implementation of ESP as standard equipment in all vehicles (This is traction control. -Ed.)



2002

World's first vehicle manufacturer to offer the PRE-SAFE preventive protection system

(And also to fit the SmartPedal on it's entire model line, thereby eliminating the possibility of unintended acceleration. -Ed.)



2004

Our engineers run around 500 tests with complete vehicles in the crash hall



This is from the Mercedes UK Website. I have added a few pertinent notes.  Please remember this is only a small sampling of Mercedes over 889 safety patents, which Mercedes does not enforce but licenses to other manufacturers for $1.00 each. Could billions have been made licensing these safety patents? Sure, but Mercedes cares most about family safety, no matter what car you are driving.