Volvo have now built over one million cars with automatic braking systems confirming their position as world leaders in automotive safety

As someone who was badly injured in an accident recently, I sit up and take notice more and more of the technology available in modern cars. An accident hurts and you will be surprised at just how impactful it can be on your life. Being a human crash test dummy is not a fun place to be. Automatic braking could have gone a long way towards avoiding what happened to me.

The systems used for automatic braking by Volvo includes several world firsts: City Safety, standard on all models (except XC90) and works at speeds up to 31mph; Collision Warning with full auto brake; and Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake.

“Several recent reports state that our groundbreaking auto braking technologies help reduce the risk of being involved in a rear-end accident by more than 20 per cent. One million Volvos with auto brake on the roads take us towards our aim that nobody should be killed or suffer serious injuries in a new Volvo car by the year 2020,” says Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor at Volvo Car Group.

Auto brake efficiency documented

The efficiency of Volvo Cars’ approach has recently been highlighted:

• The benefits of the groundbreaking City Safety technology – featuring automatic braking in low speed situations – were documented in a 2011 IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) report, which stated a significant reduction in insurance claims.
• A similar study in 2012 by the Swedish insurance company Volvia shows that Volvos equipped with City Safety are involved in 23 per cent fewer rear-end frontal collisions than cars without auto brake.
• Findings by the Swedish insurance company Folksam show that City Safety reduces injuries by 64 per cent for people in cars hit from behind on roads with a 50 km/h speed limit. In situations in which City Safety has been activated but the crash has not been completely avoided, the injury reduction is around 40 per cent.
• The final 2012 report from the EuroFOT research project concludes that a car with adaptive cruise control and collision warning cuts the risk of colliding with the vehicle in front on a motorway by up to 42 per cent.
• In the UK, the limousine operator Tristar Worldwide, which serves Virgin Atlantic, released a study showing a reduction in the number of rear impact crashes of 28 per cent.

Focus on more support for the driver

Future Volvos will feature further improvements to existing safety systems as well as new solutions. The focuses of Volvo Car Group’s present research within auto brake technology include also making more systems efficient while driving at night. Upcoming solutions will also cover more objects and situations.

“With smart interaction and new advanced solutions we will continue to contribute to further helping avoid collisions from occurring. Moreover, in our most recent car models we have reduced moderate to severe injuries by two-thirds compared with the rate for the older car models. And we are working continuously on new solutions that will bring the figure down even further,” says Thomas Broberg.

Auto brake technology overview

How Volvo Cars’ present auto brake technology works:

• With the standard City Safety, the car applies the brakes automatically if the driver fails to react in time when the vehicle in front suddenly slows down or stops. The system is active at speeds up to 31mph.
• Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake is a groundbreaking technological solution. It can detect pedestrians who walk into the road as well as cyclists in front of the car, and warn the driver and automatically apply full braking power if the driver does not respond in time.
• Collision Warning with full auto brake, active at all speeds, can help avoid collisions if the speed difference is 21mph or lower. If the relative speed is higher the collision impact will be reduced. The brakes are applied automatically if the driver does not act in response to the warning when a rear-end collision with another vehicle is imminent.

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