Crashing The Volvo XC90 - Fifth Gear

The Vision of Safety: Volvo's Bold Claims and Innovative Technology

Volvo has been at the forefront of automotive innovation for decades, and their latest endeavor is no exception. The company claims that they will be able to prevent accidents entirely, which may seem like a tall order, but with the XC90 as a test bed, they are well on their way to making this vision a reality. The XC90 is packed with advanced warning and intervention systems designed to limit the possibility of a crash. No matter how hard you try, accidents can and will happen, so Volvo's master plan involves capturing and learning from these incidents in order to improve their designs.

We witnessed this firsthand as we watched a simulated accident unfold. Our car, a completely standard XC90, veered off the road into a ditch and hit a culvert at the end of the ditch. The crash sequence was only a few seconds long, but it revealed the full extent of Volvo's innovative technology. The gravel ditch didn't present any danger, but the culvert at the end was another matter. Hitting that at 50 miles an hour is enough to launch the Volvo skywards, with the car airborne for a brief moment before coming back down. On board, the driver and passenger airbags deployed immediately, providing essential protection from any frontal surfaces.

As we joined the media scrum to take a closer look at the damage, it became clear that the front wheels had been shattered and pushed back, but the face of the car didn't look too badly damaged. Critically, the deformation of the apron was minimal, which is where most injuries occur. Lotta Jakob, head of technical safety at Volvo, explained the new systems in place to safeguard occupants in accidents such as this. It was a complex event, with the car coming into a ditch and already being in contact with the earth before hitting the culvert. The seat belts were tightened up because the system sensed that it was a ditch, and then positioned the occupant upright, which helped to dampen the forces coming through the spine of the occupant.

The XC90's seats are designed to absorb energy, reducing spinal injuries by a third. The seats also help to straighten the occupant's posture, making it easier for them to sustain a higher force without fracturing their spine. The car's sensors detect the severity of the incident, and this is achieved through a combination of accelerometers and gyroscopes. While Volvo continues to crash XC90s from every angle to make sure the car is safe, most of us assume that serious injury or worse in a car would be the result of a collision with another vehicle. However, research shows that a third of all accidents take place involving just one car, and in the States, a half of all traffic fatalities are the result of a road departure crash.

The Volvo XC90's advanced technology is designed to detect these types of incidents and prevent them from occurring in the first place. The car uses a sophisticated system that can recognize a situation like the simulated accident we witnessed today, where a driver falls asleep at the wheel and drifts off the road into a ditch. This type of incident may seem unlikely, but it's a common occurrence on Sweden's roads, where research has shown that most accidents take place involving just one car. With their innovative technology and commitment to safety, Volvo is well on its way to making driving safer for everyone on the road.