German, 6 pages, 5 figures
Keywords: passive safety, car body, restraint system

The development of passive safety equipment has been booming recently due to changing framework conditions: on the one hand, car manufacturers have developed better protection for passengers against intrusions. They developed stiffer car bodies with more stable occupant compartments so that restraint systems can protect passengers appropriately against acceleration loading. On the other hand, restraint systems have seen major improvements, mainly due to the use of modern electronics. The paper presents the state-of-the-art and the functionality of different protection equipment by the example of a newly introduced upper middle-class car.