PRE-SAFE® Brake: World Premiere of the First Autonomous Braking System Mere fractions of a second can make the difference between an accident happening and its being averted. In these critical moments it is crucial to recognize the danger and to act quickly to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, practice shows that drivers do not always react as quickly as needed. In such situations, the newly developed PRE-SAFE® brake intervenes, automatically stopping the S-Class if there is a risk of an accident. This "autonomous partial braking" is an automatic braking process with deceleration of up to 0.4 g, or around 40% of the maximum braking performance. Just how quickly the S-Class' assistance systems recognize a potential accident situation, warn the driver and provide driver assistance is illustrated by a timeline representing a typical rear-end collision situation. Around 2.6 seconds before impact (calculated by the system) the audible warning signal sounds. A red warning symbol in the tachometer also informs the driver that there is the danger of an accident. Approximately 1.6 seconds before impact - if the driver has not reacted to these three acoustic warnings - the PRE-SAFE® brake carries out autonomous partial braking. Around 0.6 seconds before impact the driver has a final chance to avert the accident by swerving or applying full braking. This means that, after the PRE-SAFE® brake has intervened, the driver has around a second to react. The PRE-SAFE® brake is active in the speed range between 30 and 180 km/h, where traffic is registered in front of the car. The system also reacts when approaching a stationary queue of traffic, provided the S-Class is not travelling at over 70 km/h. The driver is further aided by the S-Class' safety system: for emergency braking, Brake Assist PLUS instantly calculates the optimum braking force for the situation. If the car veers to one side, ESP® stabilizes the saloon and reduces the risk of skidding. If the collision cannot be avoided, the PRE-SAFE® brake can help to reduce the consequences of the accident. The new system is set to become a key part of PRE-SAFE® occupant protection, a standard feature of the S-Class. Before PRE-SAFE® is networked with the ABS, Brake Assist and ESP® sensors, the system recognizes critical handling situations such as serious skidding or heavy braking and processes this information to prepare the occupants of the car for an accident. Note: Some features are not available for the Hong Kong market.