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

  • Honda experiments with pedestrian and motorcycle safety
    August 29, 2013
    Honda has demonstrated its experimental vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) and vehicle-to-motorcycle (V2M) technologies, aimed at reducing the potential for collisions between automobiles and pedestrians and between automobiles and motorcycles. The vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) technology uses a car equipped with dedicated short range communications (DSRC) technology to detect a pedestrian with a DSRC-enabled Smartphone and provides auditory and visual warnings to both the pedestrian and drivers. According to Ho
  • Self-driving cars ‘a US$87 billion opportunity in 2030’
    May 22, 2014
    The latest research from Lux Research indicates that automakers and technology developers are closer than ever to bringing self-driving cars to market, with basic Level 2 autonomous behaviour already coming to market, in the form of relatively modest self-driving features like adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and collision avoidance braking. With these initial steps, automakers are already on the road to some level of autonomy, but costs remain high in many cases. It is the higher levels
  • Experiment discovers ‘deadliest distractions’ at the wheel
    April 28, 2017
    Road safety charity IAM RoadSmart and UK car magazine Auto Express teamed up to find out which are the deadliest behind-the-wheel distractions with programming a sat-nav found to be the worst. Auto Express consumer editor Joe Finnerty and British Formula 3 hopeful Jamie Chadwick were put to the test in a professional racing simulator at Base Performance Simulators in Banbury. They were both assessed to see how they coped with the most common distracting tasks on UK roads, while completing timed laps and bra
  • Lytx welcomes transport secretary’s focus on distracted driving
    July 18, 2014
    Driver safety and compliance solutions specialist Lytx Europe has welcomed news that the UK transport secretary is considering a number of options to combat distracted driving. Patrick McLoughlin has suggested that the penalty for using a mobile phone while driving could be doubled from the current three points, while a government spokesman said "Using a mobile phone while driving is extremely dangerous which is why we are considering a number of options to deter drivers." Julie Townsend, deputy chief