Volvo says its drive to build the safest cars in the world has been validated not only by several independent crash tests during the past year but also by its own crash research data.
"Our own, extensive accident database shows that the risk of being injured in one of our latest car models has been reduced by around 50 percent since the year 2000," says Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor at Volvo Car Corporation.
"We are working on new technologies that will bring the figure down even further," he adds.
Volvo's knowledge-driven approach to car safety is based on input from real-life data, including findings by the company's own Traffic Accident Research team, which has been operative for more than 40 years.
"A holistic approach and real-life traffic conditions are always the starting-point for our safety work," says Broberg. "Our massive database with input from actual road accidents helps us focus on the areas where new technology creates significant results in real-life-traffic."
He cited several examples of positive results from the use of specific technologies:
Earlier this year, an IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) report credited Volvo's City Safety technology with a collision frequency reduction of up to 22%.
A similar study by the Swedish insurance company, Volvia showed that Volvos equipped with automatic braking are involved in 22% fewer rear-end collisions than cars without auto brake.
The final report from the EuroFOT research projects concluded 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%.
The effectiveness of Volvo's holistic approach to crash safety has also been confirmed by several independent tests, the company says.
In the latest report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) on in a new small-offset frontal crash test at 64 km/h (40 mph), the Volvo S60 earned the best rating.
And last year, five Volvo models – the C30, S60, S80, XC60 and XC90 – all earned IIHS Top Safety Pick status.
Future technologies coming from Volvo are said to include improvements of existing safety systems as well as new solutions, with a focus on assisting the driver.
Research focuses on three main areas:
Autonomous Driving Support uses data from a camera and radar sensors to make sure that the car automatically follows the vehicle in front in a slow-moving queue.
Intersection Support alerts and automatically brakes for crossing traffic when necessary.
Animal Detection is designed to detect and automatically brake for large animals, such as elks and large deer.
"The risk of being involved in an accident or being injured in a Volvo is continuously reduced," Broberg concluded. "We keep on moving towards our safety vision that nobody should die or suffer serious injuries in a new Volvo car by the year 2020".