Finally, a good use for QR codes

QR Codes. Most consumers hate them. Most marketers love them (and think consumers love them too). This often misused little graphic usually found on magazine ads and 20 foot high billboards (not kidding) is usually only used for sharing links. But technically speaking – a QR code is capable of linking to a lot of pertinent information and not just a Facebook page. Mercedes Benz is using this capability to redeem the QR code.

Mercedes Benz are placing QR codes in prominent locations on their vehicles so that emergency crews are just a phone scan away from the rescue sheets and schematics that show where to cut a wrecked vehicle to remove accident victims.

Image: Mercedes-Benz / Diamler

Without such immediate knowledge, rescuers may have to wait for a positive identification on the model or else risk cutting electrical wires and fuel lines.

The car manufacturer is not patenting this method in the hope that all car manufacturers will embrace this technology and method.

When every second counts: with a small yet effective innovation, Mercedes-Benz wants to make the rescue of accident victims safer and swifter. In future a QR code, which can be read by smartphones and tablets, placed on Mercedes-Benz cars, will provide a rescue map for every vehicle type, which can be shown on the device’s display. This chart contains all the information necessary to rescue any injured occupants speedily.