Don, sorry to hear about the accident. The Mercedes did its job and protected the occupants.

This will be too late for your daughter, but I want to point out that the hazard/emergency flasher button is in a very convenient place on a Mercedes, and one should not hesitate to use it. I always keep an eye on the rear view mirror (especially in the 240D!), and have on many occasions used the flasher to get the attention of someone who is not paying attention and coming up too fast.

If the person behind you is not really paying attention to what is in front of them, then your car being a stationary object in front of them does not stand out from its surroundings. Even with the brake lights on, a stationary object is easily ignored until it is too late. What you need is movement, which will grab the person's attention even from their peripheral vision. The flashers simulate that movement and work very effectively to get the inattentive driver to wake up.

Reaching over and punching that big red triangle has saved my butt more than a few times, even in the E300.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
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