Skip to main content

Volvo standardises anti-collision system

Volvo will unveil ‘the most comprehensive and technologically sophisticated standard safety package available in the automotive industry’ next month when it launches its all-new XC90 all-wheel drive SUV. The standard safety package will include an auto brake at intersection capability and run-off road protection. The auto brake at intersection function automatically applies the brakes if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. On-board systems detect a potential crash and automatically apply the br
July 23, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

609 Volvo will unveil ‘the most comprehensive and technologically sophisticated standard safety package available in the automotive industry’ next month when it launches its all-new XC90 all-wheel drive SUV. The standard safety package will include an auto brake at intersection capability and run-off road protection.

The auto brake at intersection function automatically applies the brakes if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. On-board systems detect a potential crash and automatically apply the brakes to avoid a collision or mitigate the consequences.

The City Safety crash prevention system is carried over with a camera upgrade and now covers vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in front of the car.

Another ‘world first’ is the Safe Positioning run-off road protection system. Volvo says run-off accidents (caused by driver distraction, fatigue or poor weather conditions) account for half of US traffic fatalities and single-vehicle accidents account for a third of fatal and severe injury crashes in Sweden.

To avoid run-offs, the XC90’s Lane Keeping Aid applies extra steering torque if the car is about to leave the lane unintentionally while Driver Alert Control detects and warns of tired or inattentive drivers. The Safe Positioning system detects the vehicle running off the road and tightens the front safety belts to restrain the occupants while an energy-absorbing system between the seat and seat frame helps prevent spine injuries.
 
Both the safety belt tightening and brake application functions are activated if the rearward facing radars detects an imminent rear-end impact, and the lights start flashing to warn the driver behind.

Also standard is a new generation of Roll Stability Control which calculates the risk of a rollover and will automatically reduce engine torque and apply braking force to one or more wheels to counteract any rollover tendency. If a rollover is inevitable, the system activates inflatable curtains to protect the occupants.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Subaru debuts improved driver assistance systems
    January 24, 2014
    The latest EyeSight driver assistance system from Subaru of America now features colour stereo cameras that deliver an approximately 40 per cent longer and wider detection range, brake light detection and can now fully function when the speed differential between the Eyesight equipped car and another vehicle is up to 30 mph. EyeSight is mounted inside the car on the upper edge of the windshield in a housing that has been made 15 per cent smaller. The EyeSight system processes stereo images to identify t
  • Counting on safety
    April 29, 2015
    The European Transport Safety Council is calling for the mandatory fitting of intelligent seat belt reminders, intelligent speed assistance and automatic lane departure warnings to all new vehicles sold in the EU. These are the latest of many systems introduced to improve vehicle safety and while technology can combat specific hazards, technology alone is not the answer. If it was, then the 60% of those killed in EU motorway collisions that were not wearing a seat belt, would have been wearing one and may h
  • TRW takes first step towards lane centring technology
    December 4, 2013
    TRW’s latest Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) technology, incorporating closed loop control, has gone into production for the first time on two vehicle platforms for the European market. LKA integrates data from a video camera sensor with electrically powered steering (EPS) to apply a short counter-steer torque via the steering system to assist the driver in preventing the vehicle from unintentionally leaving the lane. In conventional LKA systems, the technology is only active when the vehicle is close to t
  • US automakers commit to making AEB standard on new vehicles
    March 18, 2016
    Twenty US automakers, representing more than 90 per cent of the US auto market have committed to automatic emergency braking (AEB) a standard feature on virtually all new cars no later than 2022. Making the announcement, the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) said that the commitment means that this important safety technology will be available to more consumers more quickly than would be possible