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.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is Volvo's all-new xc90 it's the flagship model in their range so not surprisingly they've spent a great deal of time getting it right and because it's a Volvo safety has been right at the top of their priority list which is why I'm about to watch one being demolished yep a brand new 50 grand car is going to get intentionally injured here of all those high-tech test centre in Gothenburg Sweden it's all part of Volvo's vision to ensure no one will ever get killed or seriously injured in one of their cars and if you think its vision lies fifty years in the future then you'd be woefully misguided because Volvo claims that this will take place in under five years time by 2020 that sounds like a ridiculously tall order but Volvo are clearly well on their way with the xc90 as prevention is always better than cure the xc90 is packed with a host of advanced warning and intervention systems to limit the possibility of a crash but no matter how hard you try accidents can and will happen so what's of all those master plan well today we're going to witness the situation you are driving home from work very late at night the only thing on the radio seems to be something like Kenny G or maybe Chris de Burgh and you've fallen asleep and the car is veered off the road into this ditch you don't fifty and then it hits this the culvert at the end of the ditch and what happens then well we're about to find out this is a completely standard xc90 however it's been coated with all manner of senses to measure exactly what happens to the car during the crash measuring what happens to the occupants are these three highly sophisticated crash-test dummies and all this data is then fed to a nerve center in the boot and because Volvo wants to capture as much information as possible even the matte orange paint serves a purpose because it reveals more detail to the high-speed cameras that will record the short but eventful life of this luxury car the crash sequence is about a tape life I'm not alone during this test there are other journalists from all over the world who are just as curious about Volvo's bold claims as iron Mikey initially the gravel ditch doesn't present any danger however the culvert at the end is another matter because hitting that at fifty miles an hour is enough to launch the Volvo skywards that's over two tons of Swedish metal now airborne on board the driver and passenger airbags deployed at the moment of impact giving essential protection from any frontal surfaces as the vehicle lands the front driver's wheel takes the full force and she is completely in half finally as the car bounces and skews left the airbags on the right hand side are triggered I joined the media scrum to take a closer look at the damage so immediately notice that the front wheels been shattered and pushed back but actually we need to put the the face of the car it doesn't look that badly damaged and critically the a pillow it's just the thing that a lot of experts will look at this doesn't look like a lot of deformation of the apron and that's obviously where stuff can intrude into the cabin you know crushing feet legs that sort of thing lotta Jakob s'en head of technical safety of Volvo explained the new systems safeguarding occupants in accidents such as this it was a quite complex event you know the car came into a ditch and already been entering the ditch the seat belts are tightened up because we sense that it's a ditch and then we need to position the the occupant so they've been sitting upright and when then coming to the embankment we saw the vertical forces coming up it was quite a big job it was and it's it's those type of situations we've seen in the real world were actually costs and spine injuries so that's why we developed energy absorbing functionality in the seat that actually dampens the forces coming through the spine of the occupant and together with the up straightening of the posture helps to these guys to actually sustain a higher force without fracturing previous crashed data has revealed that people tend to move around a lot in a collision so the seatbelts are able to tighten by as much as 10 centimeters in naught point one seconds coupled with the new deformable seat design Volvo has been able to reduce spinal injuries by a third how does the car sense the severity of the incident which it's about to happen this car uses the accelerometers and the gyrus in the car only we won't of course add more information with other sensors as well but this one detects the situation by feeling the changes of emotions in the car so it we have trained the car in the sensors to recognize a situation like this where as compared to somebody just driving around of course this is only one accident scenario in which serious injury or death could occur so Volvo continues to crash xc90 s from every angle to make sure the car is safe whatever happens but perhaps you're thinking the type of incident we've witnessed today is unlikely to happen to you most of us presume that serious injury or worse in a car would be the result of a collision with another vehicle but actually here in Sweden that doesn't seem to be the case because research says 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 youthis is Volvo's all-new xc90 it's the flagship model in their range so not surprisingly they've spent a great deal of time getting it right and because it's a Volvo safety has been right at the top of their priority list which is why I'm about to watch one being demolished yep a brand new 50 grand car is going to get intentionally injured here of all those high-tech test centre in Gothenburg Sweden it's all part of Volvo's vision to ensure no one will ever get killed or seriously injured in one of their cars and if you think its vision lies fifty years in the future then you'd be woefully misguided because Volvo claims that this will take place in under five years time by 2020 that sounds like a ridiculously tall order but Volvo are clearly well on their way with the xc90 as prevention is always better than cure the xc90 is packed with a host of advanced warning and intervention systems to limit the possibility of a crash but no matter how hard you try accidents can and will happen so what's of all those master plan well today we're going to witness the situation you are driving home from work very late at night the only thing on the radio seems to be something like Kenny G or maybe Chris de Burgh and you've fallen asleep and the car is veered off the road into this ditch you don't fifty and then it hits this the culvert at the end of the ditch and what happens then well we're about to find out this is a completely standard xc90 however it's been coated with all manner of senses to measure exactly what happens to the car during the crash measuring what happens to the occupants are these three highly sophisticated crash-test dummies and all this data is then fed to a nerve center in the boot and because Volvo wants to capture as much information as possible even the matte orange paint serves a purpose because it reveals more detail to the high-speed cameras that will record the short but eventful life of this luxury car the crash sequence is about a tape life I'm not alone during this test there are other journalists from all over the world who are just as curious about Volvo's bold claims as iron Mikey initially the gravel ditch doesn't present any danger however the culvert at the end is another matter because hitting that at fifty miles an hour is enough to launch the Volvo skywards that's over two tons of Swedish metal now airborne on board the driver and passenger airbags deployed at the moment of impact giving essential protection from any frontal surfaces as the vehicle lands the front driver's wheel takes the full force and she is completely in half finally as the car bounces and skews left the airbags on the right hand side are triggered I joined the media scrum to take a closer look at the damage so immediately notice that the front wheels been shattered and pushed back but actually we need to put the the face of the car it doesn't look that badly damaged and critically the a pillow it's just the thing that a lot of experts will look at this doesn't look like a lot of deformation of the apron and that's obviously where stuff can intrude into the cabin you know crushing feet legs that sort of thing lotta Jakob s'en head of technical safety of Volvo explained the new systems safeguarding occupants in accidents such as this it was a quite complex event you know the car came into a ditch and already been entering the ditch the seat belts are tightened up because we sense that it's a ditch and then we need to position the the occupant so they've been sitting upright and when then coming to the embankment we saw the vertical forces coming up it was quite a big job it was and it's it's those type of situations we've seen in the real world were actually costs and spine injuries so that's why we developed energy absorbing functionality in the seat that actually dampens the forces coming through the spine of the occupant and together with the up straightening of the posture helps to these guys to actually sustain a higher force without fracturing previous crashed data has revealed that people tend to move around a lot in a collision so the seatbelts are able to tighten by as much as 10 centimeters in naught point one seconds coupled with the new deformable seat design Volvo has been able to reduce spinal injuries by a third how does the car sense the severity of the incident which it's about to happen this car uses the accelerometers and the gyrus in the car only we won't of course add more information with other sensors as well but this one detects the situation by feeling the changes of emotions in the car so it we have trained the car in the sensors to recognize a situation like this where as compared to somebody just driving around of course this is only one accident scenario in which serious injury or death could occur so Volvo continues to crash xc90 s from every angle to make sure the car is safe whatever happens but perhaps you're thinking the type of incident we've witnessed today is unlikely to happen to you most of us presume that serious injury or worse in a car would be the result of a collision with another vehicle but actually here in Sweden that doesn't seem to be the case because research says 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 you\n"