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22<br />
Five centimetres of steel can have a remarkable effect.<br />
The five centimetres in question belong to the wedge-pin<br />
door lock, which has saved the lives of countless drivers<br />
and passengers around the world since it was patented in<br />
July 1958. By preventing the doors from bursting open<br />
in an accident this innovative design featuring a metal<br />
wedge pin and two safety detents stopped the occupants<br />
from being thrown out of the vehicle, previously a<br />
common and disastrous consequence of even relatively<br />
harmless collisions.<br />
But the wedge-pin door lock did more than just increase<br />
the stability of the occupant cell: it also reduced the risk<br />
of the doors being jammed, thereby simplifying the task<br />
facing the rescuers to such a degree that lives were saved<br />
in many cases.<br />
Today, the enhanced version of the wedge-pin door lock<br />
remains the benchmark for car door safety.<br />
In fact, the wedge-pin door lock is a perfect example of<br />
how, thanks to their great attention to detail, perseverance<br />
and willingness to think outside the box, <strong>Mercedes</strong>-<strong>Benz</strong><br />
safety researchers regularly come up with unexpected and<br />
exciting solutions.<br />
But whatever they may be working on, they always have<br />
one overriding objective in mind: ensuring the wellbeing<br />
of <strong>Mercedes</strong>-<strong>Benz</strong> drivers.
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