The World Health Organisation estimate that around 1.2 million of the world’s population are killed and more than 50 million are wounded in traffic crashes every year.
Jan Ivarsson, head of safety strategy at Volvo, says the “intelligence” of the car should support the driver by monitoring drowsiness or distraction, and warning the driver when the distance to other cars is too short. Only if the driver fails to react and a collision is imminent or unavoidable, will the car take over from the driver, for example by auto-braking.
Ivarsson says the lowered impact speed reduces crash energy, which in turn increases the performance of the car’s protective safety systems such as seat belts, airbags and crumple zones.
Volvo plan to introduce safety technologies in the near future that make it possible to detect and auto-brake for pedestrians and even auto-steer away from oncoming cars. Ivarsson says Volvo are committed to research and development to improve traffic safety, and that Volvo “invite fruitful cooperation with authorities and the automotive industry.”