Volvo to end car related injuries by 2020

Auto-brake

A second world first for the XC 90 is its ability to automatically brake at intersections.

This is a fairly common scenario at busy and high-speed intersections, where a driver is attempting to turn left or right, but does not yield to an oncoming car coming from the opposite direction.

In these circumstances, Volvo’s XC 90 detects the oncoming car and brakes to mitigate the collision.

“These two world firsts are further examples of how new technologies target substantial real- life traffic problems,” says David Pickett, Technical Manager at Volvo Car Australia.

Volvo Auto Brake

Rear enders and rolls

The XC 90 includes a number of other clever safety systems including pre-crash protection in rear impacts.

This happens when rear-facing radar detects an impending collision and tightens up the seat belts to keep the occupants in place, as well as locking the brakes to prevent the car from being pushed into a dangerous intersection.

The rear lights will also flash to signal the approaching car of a collision, and Volvo’s whiplash protection seats provides a pre-crash function to help reduce whiplash injuries.

Meanwhile, when it comes to loss of control, the XC 90’s rollover prevention and protection system adjusts elements including engine torque and applies the brakes to one or more wheels to counter the momentum needed to flip the car.

City Safety

Then there’s the situation of driving in close proximity, which is where quick thinking is often needed.

To deal with this, Volvo has introduced a suite of systems called “City Safety” used to brake the vehicle when something gets in the way and the driver does not brake in time.

Volvo City Smart1

“City Safety is one of the most advanced standard crash prevention offers you can find in a modern car. It now covers vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in front of the car, day and night,” explains David Pickett.

“We are now able to cover the whole span from dusk to dawn by a smarter and faster high- sensitive camera combined with advanced exposure control.”

Blind spot detection adds to this technology to help inform the driver when a car is hidden from the mirrors, with an alert if vehicles are approaching fast from behind and tailgating.

Volvo lane change

Reading the signs

Sometimes it’s not all that clear what the speed limit is, so Volvo’s Extended Road Sign Information system will remind you by using a camera to look for and interpret road speed signs, and place a speed indication symbol directly on your speedometer. This is certainly handy and was surprising accurate considering the different colours and sizes of speed limit-signs that we drove by.

Volvo - speed sign

Follow the leader

The last feature to grab our attention felt built for the tedious stop-start that is city driving, and that was Queue Assist.

This essentially allows the vehicle to ‘follow’ the car in front of it, including starting and stopping as well as turning.

While it’s not recommended to take your eyes off the road, Queue Assist alleviates some of the concentration required during long traffic jams, and prevents minor fender benders. The system disengages above 60kph, and you still need to have one hand on the steering wheel for it to activate.

Volvo Traffic

Volvo’s XC 90 is on sale in Australia now, with drivetrains ranging from diesel (D5) to petrol (T6) with a hybrid version (T8) to be released later in the year. Depending on the model, prices range from $89,950 to $100,950 before on-roads.