New QR code safety innovation debuts at Mercedes-Benz of Collierville

Fatalities from automobile accidents are thankfully down about 10 percent so far this year, and use of new in-vehicle QR codes being introduced at Mercedes-Benz of Collierville is sure to help boost that statistic. The dealership is participating in the national Rescue Assist program, and all new cars and SUVs at the dealership now come equipped with scannable QR codes that help early responders to a car crash better determine where dangerous airbag charges or sensors are located inside the vehicles.

“It’s a great benefit for our customers to have the QR codes on their cars, and we are trying to make them available to all of our customers in this market,” says Steve Rollins, General Manager at Mercedes-Benz of Collierville, who describes the airbag charges as small explosions when they are triggered during a rescue operation.

The codes are located in two spots–the inside of the gas cap and on the passenger door pillar–to help rescue workers use their smart phones or tablets to connect to websites with detailed information about the airbags, hybrid batteries, blueprints of the automobile, where to cut to remove passengers from the vehicle, and the locations of the battery and fuel tank. Valuable time is lost when responding to serious road traffic accidents while first responders carefully study or even disassemble vehicles due to air bags’ accidental deployment or hybrids.

“The airbag charges are actually like little explosions when they bust out,” says Rollins.

Last year there were 167,831 total automobile accidents in the state of Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

Anyone who owns a Mercedes dating back to 1990 can come into the dealership and have model-specific codes added to his or her vehicle. The dealership hosted a special event with the Town of Collierville Fire Department and Police Department early responders last month to show off the technology to the public.

By Michael Waddell