All-new Volvo XC90: Set to Have the Most Advanced Standard Safety on the market

Run-off road is a common accident type with different causes, such as driver distraction, fatigue or poor weather conditions. Even though there are currently no regulatory or rating tests to examine a car’s ability to handle run-off road accidents, the company has decided to develop the technology to protect occupants should these situations occur.

Volvo Cars developed Safe Positioning to address these situations. The Safe Positioning capability means that in a run-off road scenario, the all-new Volvo XC90 detects what is happening and the front safety belts are tightened to keep the occupants in position. The belts are firmly tightened as long as the car is in motion.

The XC90 also features technologies that help the driver avoid run-off road scenarios: The Lane Keeping Aid applies extra steering torque if the car is about to leave the lane unintentionally, while Driver Alert Control, which is also standard, detects and warns tired or inattentive drivers. It even has Rest Stop Guidance, which directs the driver to the nearest rest area.

The XC90 is the first car in the world with technology that features automatic braking if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. This is a common scenario at busy city crossings as well as on highways, where the speed limits are higher. The all-new Volvo XC90 detects a potential crash and brakes automatically in order to avoid a collision or mitigate the consequences of a crash.

The all-new XC90 comes with the latest generation Roll Stability Control as standard. The system uses advanced sensors to calculate the risk of rolling over. If the risk is assessed as high, engine torque is restricted and some braking force is applied to one or more wheels to counteract the rollover tendency.

If a rollover is inevitable, the Inflatable Curtains are activated. They cover all three seat rows for an extended period of time to help prevent head injuries. All seven seats in the XC90 have pyrotechnical safety belt pre-tensioners that also activate in rollover situations.

To help keep the occupant space inside intact in a crash, the all-new XC90 has literally been made stronger in every sense. This is achieved by more extensive use of hot-formed boron steel, which is the strongest type of steel presently used in the car body industry. The complete safety cage around the occupants is made from hot-formed boron steel and is designed for maximum occupant protection in all types of crash scenarios. The hot-formed steel amounts to about 40 per cent of the total body weight.

Volvo Cars' vision is to design cars that should not crash. In the short term, the aim is that by 2020 no one should be killed or injured in a new Volvo car. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that some 1.2 million people are killed and more than 50 million wounded in traffic accidents every year. These figures are expected to increase rapidly if no action is taken. Volvo is determined to take the lead by using its vision of a collision-free future as a guiding principle.

Credits: Oneshift News Team