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2003 MERCEDES BENZ CL CLASS — SEAT BELTS

3 fatalfirecrash1 injured · 711767 · 2009-03-11

Vehicle

Make
MERCEDES BENZ
Model
CL CLASS
Year
2003
Manufacturer
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Component
SEAT BELTS
Miles at failure
9,000
Speed
30 mph

Severity

Deaths
3
Injured
1
Fire
Yes
Crash
Yes
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

1. EXITING A CURVE ON A WINDY ROAD AT APPROX. 30MPH, DRIVER APPLIED THROTTLE CAUSING AN AUTOMATIC DOWNSHIFT INTO A 516FTLB TORQUE LUNGE. WITH NO STEERING CONTROL IN 1-SECOND WE WERE IN THE OPPOSITE LANE. DRIVER FOUGHT TO REGAIN CONTROL DURING SECOND NO. 2. THEN A LIMO BLEW THROUGH A STOP SIGN ON A MERGE LANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. BOTH DRIVER'S BRACED ON THEIR GAS PEDALS. 2. THE MERCEDES CL & SL CLASSES HAVE THE SAME FRONT SEATS WITH AN INTEGRATED SEAT BELT SYSTEM. SINCE IT WAS ONLY CONNECTED TO THE SEAT, THE SEAT FAILED WITHOUT EVEN A BRUISE TO MY RIGHT SHOULDER (BY OVER 30-40 DEGREES). I WAS LEFT AGAINST THE DASH BOARD (WITH MY SEATBELT ON) THROWING LIMBS AT MY SURVIVAL. TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY, AFTER BREAKING MY LEFT FEMUR TWICE, SMASHING TWO KNEES, BREAKING MY FOREARM, HITTING MY HEAD ATOP MY LEFT HAND ON THE DASH AND LEAVING MY BODY WHEN I PUSHED BACK AND RETURNED I HAD ENOUGH TIME TO THINK THE AIR BAG HAS YET TO GO OFF. THEN IT DID, PICKING ME UP BY MY HEAD, SMASHING IT AGAINST THE MOONROOF BEFORE FINALLY COMING TO REST IN A MANGLED SEAT POSITION. 3. IN THE 2.75 YEARS IT TOOK TO GET TO WRITING THIS CORRESPONDENCE, MERCEDES HAS INCREASED THEIR CL POWER OPTIONS BY ANOTHER 150HP AND 250FTLBS OF TORQUE TO 650HP/750FTLBS OF TORQUE WITH THE SAME SEAT/BELT ARRANGEMENT. NHRA RULES REQUIRE 5-POINT HARNESSES ATTACHED TO FRAME/ROLLCAGE COMPONENTS FOR A CAR CAPABLE OF TRAVERSING THE 1/4MILE IN 12 SECONDS OR LESS. THE CL55-65'S RANGE FROM MID 12'S TO MID 11'S. AND

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10261599
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown