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Mercedes-Benz has introduced it's Rescue Assist stickers in the UK, allowing emergency services to quickly identify key details of a car by using a smartphone or tablet.

The QR code Rescue Assist stickers are stuck inside the fuel filler flap and within the opposite door aperture, and can be scanned by emergency services to determine exact vehicle make and model details without resorting to using time consuming databases.

The system also provides information on key safety systems and, on hybrid models, the location of high voltage power cables - making them a timely addition given how quickly Mercedes- Benz is expanding it's range of hybrid cars. 

The firm estimates they'll save two minutes: that's a potentially lifesaving 3.3% of the critical 'Golden Hour'. 

Fitted to every new Mercedes-Benz, the firm will now offer to retrofit them to any Mercedes-Benz model built since 1990 - for free. Owners simply need to visit their local dealer.

It's not lifesaving tech that Mercedes-Benz is keeping for itself either. Although it developed the Rescue Assist codes, it is waiving the patent so other brands can use the technology. Just like Volvo with the three point safety belt back in 1959, Mercedes-Benz believes in this case, safety should come before business. 

It's something the emergency services in the UK would certainly welcome. Craig Flannery, Learning & Development Manager at the Fire Service College said; 'We'd like to be in a position where all cars have QR codes, simply because it's going to reduce the amount of time taken to extricate the casualty, which in turn is going to improve survival rates'.