Daimler Safety Professor Dr Joerg Zuern Receives 'European Safety Award for Commercial Vehicles'

Despite these outstanding achievements, the Mercedes-Benz Vans development team's work in the field of safety and assistance systems has not been completed yet. Day after day, the team works on bringing the vision of accident-free driving in the van segment ever closer.

Joerg Zuern: “I would like to accept this safety award on behalf of my wonderful colleagues with whom I was and am able to work together on the road to accident-free driving.”

BERLIN -- Oct. 8, 2015: Professor Dr Joerg Zuern, Head of Development Mercedes-Benz Vans, received the “European Safety Award for Commercial Vehicles” at the DEKRA Future Congress on 6 October 2015. The award has been conferred by DEKRA together with the German Road Safety Council and the European Association for Accident Research and Analysis every year since 1990.

In his award speech, EVU President Professor Dr Egon-Christian von Glasner said: “Professor Dr Zuern is receiving the award for his excellent engineering performance in the field of commercial vehicle development, which has above all helped to greatly enhance active and passive safety on the road.”

Joerg Zuern declared: “I am pleased to receive this award. It underlines the importance of safety in commercial vehicle development. Safety is one of the brand values of Mercedes-Benz. Improving it is what defines our work day after day.”

Joerg Zuern has been working for the Daimler Group since 1984, during which time he has been actively involved in the set-up of the research department in Ulm, taken charge of the development centre for commercial vehicle transmissions in Stuttgart, and helped control the fate of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation in Tokyo as a member of the board of management. He became Head of Product Development Mercedes-Benz Trucks in 2005. In this position, he played a leading role in the development of the new Actros and, therefore, in the introduction of pioneering safety systems in the truck sector, such as Active Brake Assist 3. He has been with the Mercedes-Benz Vans division since 2013, where he is responsible for development worldwide.

The Mercedes-Benz Vans division holds ready unique safety and assistance systems in the van segment. For instance, a milestone in safety technology has been Crosswind Assist, which made its debut in the current Sprinter and has now even been adapted for van bodies and conversions. The same applies to PRE-SAFE, a premiere in the Vito class. PRE-SAFE is activated when there is the threat of an accident: the front seat belts are tensioned, the windows closed and the front passenger seat moves into an ideal position in relation to the airbags.