be shifted in the direction of the arrow b as shown in fig3 according to fig2 the pull element 24 remains deflected through 180 u00b0 and is returned parallel to the container 1 to the tie up point 22 as illustrated in fig2 in the event of the shortening of the steering column 11 according to fig3 the portion returned to the tie up point 22 is displaced obliquely a comparison of fig2 and 3 shows clearly that on a count of the deflection of a deflectable pull element 24 the tie up point 22 may be provided at virtually any desired point around the energy absorbing device and that the front free space required for the displacement of the container is very small further a forward push of the container solely in the event of a collision or impact also means that the device can be mounted in its shortest possible length and any damage to vehicle elements in front of the container in the event of an impact is generally unimportant if parts of the vehicle are damaged in any case the use of a pull element 24 for moving the pressure element 23 reduces the risk of the tilting of the pressure element 23 in the container 1 since the distance between the guide regions of the container wall and of the outlet duct 5 decreases from a maximum size in contrast to a piston rod guided on the other sides further the pull device may also be assigned a pull sensor not shown the deflection body 25 may be a sliding or a rolling.