Real world accident research – Real world results
Many of you know this bit of Volvo history but please bear with me on this refresh. Since 1972, Volvo in Sweden has investigated real world accidents that happen within about an hour’s drive of our Torslanda HQ. A team of researchers head to a site, take measurements, interview people and sometimes take the car into our crash center for further analysis. Right now, we have over 40,000 accidents in our real world accidents database.
What we have done and continue to do, is look for ways to help improve occupant protection. These days, it’s more about avoidance than protection. But for our database going forward there is no way to interview someone who didn’t have an accident because City Safety did it’s job. If an XC60 driver doesn’t stop and City Safety takes over, how can we measure that occurrence? We can’t, but the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) can and just did. Below is our press release about how City Safety is saving money and lives. You can read their release at: http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr071911.html
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2011-07-18-self-braking-cars_n.htm
Good video news report at http://www.autonews.com/article/20110719/VIDEO/307199926/1439
Good Morning America. Self-Braking Cars Get Green Light http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/braking-cars-green-light-14104791?tab=9482930§ion=1206852&playlist=14103762
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/volvo-crash-prevention-system-receives-high-marks-from-insurance-institute/
City Safety is another stepping stone to reaching Vision 2020 goal: No deaths or serious injuries in a Volvo by year 2020.
dan
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Insurance Claim Analysis: Volvo City Safety System Prevents Collisions
Highway Loss Data Institute Finds Volvo XC60 Gets Into Fewer Crashes
ROCKLEIGH, N.J. (July 19, 2011) – A newly published analysis from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) indicates that Volvo XC60s get into fewer low-speed crashes than comparable vehicles thanks to Volvo’s City Safety technology, a standard feature on all XC60s.
HLDI examined claim frequency under property damage liability, bodily injury liability and collisions. Their data concluded frequency rates for the XC60 were lower than all other midsize luxury SUVs, specifically:
- Claims under property damage liability coverage were filed 27 percent less often for the XC60 than other midsize luxury SUVs.
- Claim frequencies for injuries for the XC60 were filed about half as often compared to other midsize luxury SUVs.
- Collision claim frequencies for the XC60 were 22 percent lower than all other midsize luxury SUVs.
“This is our first real-world look at an advanced crash avoidance technology, and the findings are encouraging,” said Adrian Lund, president of HLDI and IIHS. “City Safety is helping XC60 drivers avoid the kinds of front-to-rear low speed crashes that frequently happen on congested roads.”
IIHS last year estimated that current crash avoidance features have the potential to prevent or mitigate as many as 1.9 million crashes each year, and current users have stated the systems help them to be safer drivers.
“It is great to see validation from HLDI and IIHS of the safety systems that we at Volvo are continually developing,” said Thomas Broberg, Volvo Car Corp.’s senior safety expert. ”This is another step towards achieving our Vision 2020 of eliminating serious injuries and fatalities by the year 2020, and an even larger step towards a crash-free future.”
HLDI also looked at how the crash reductions for the XC60 affected overall insurance costs:
- Overall payouts under property damage liability for XC60s were 20 percent lower than losses for all other midsize luxury SUVs.
- Estimated overall collision losses for the XC60 were 31 percent lower than all other midsize luxury SUVs.
“The lower claim frequencies found by HLDI prove that City Safety is preventing crashes and thus reducing insurance costs,” said John Maloney, VCNA’s vice president of marketing and product planning. ”There’s an opportunity here for insurance companies to begin offering a discount on vehicles equipped with City Safety or similar crash-avoidance technologies.”
HLDI analysts compared insurance claims data for the 2010 model XC60 with two control groups: other 2009-10 midsize luxury SUVs and other 2009-10 Volvo models. The analysis controlled for a variety of geographic and demographic factors that can affect claims. Geographic factors include garaging state and vehicle density (the number of registered vehicles per square mile). Demographic factors take into account such things as the primary driver’s age, gender and marital status. Other factors include calendar year plus the policy deductible.
HLDI defines the three types of auto insurance coverage as follows: property damage liability pays for damage an at-fault vehicle does to another’s property as the result of a crash. Bodily injury liability generally pays for injuries to people involved in the crash other than the insured at-fault driver. Collision pays for damage to the insured vehicle.
City Safety keeps a watch on vehicles in front with the help of a laser sensor built into the windscreen at the height of the rearview mirror. Between 2-19 mph, the car automatically brakes if the driver does not respond in time when the car in front slows down or stops – or if the driver is driving too fast towards a stationary object. If the relative speed difference between the two vehicles is less than 9 mph, the collision can be entirely avoided. If the speed difference is between 9-19 mph, the speed at impact is reduced by about one half, thereby mitigating the collision. City Safety also is also standard on the 2011 and 2012 S60, 2012 S80 and 2012 XC70.
In addition to City Safety, the XC60 is available with Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake as part of its optional Technology Package. Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake uses forward-looking radar and digital camera identification that scans an object and matches its shape against an image database of about 10,000 forms. The system can track up to 64 pedestrians and their paths – all within 50 milliseconds.
If a pedestrian walks into the car’s path and an impact is imminent, a warning light and tone warn the driver. If the driver does not react, the car will apply up to 100 percent available braking force, thereby avoiding a collision if the car is traveling 19 mph or less. At 20 mph and higher, the available breaking force will significantly mitigate the collision.
In the effort to continually be the industry leader in safety, Volvo is working on plans for the next generation of active safety detection which features animal detection. The system, much like today’s pedestrian detection, will feature a radar sensor and infrared camera – and it will function in the dark when the likelihood of hitting an animal increases. The system must be complex in order to recognize a variety of animals in differing sizes – from dogs to moose. According to IIHS, from 1993-2007, 2,499 people died in collisions involving wild animals and the number of collisions continues to increase.
Additional Information
IIHS: http://www.iihs.org/
XC60 City Safety: https://www.media.volvocars.com/us/enhanced/en-us/Media/Preview.aspx?mediaid=18521
XC60 Safety Systems: https://www.media.volvocars.com/us/enhanced/en-us/Media/Preview.aspx?mediaid=18524
Vision 2020: https://www.media.volvocars.com/us/enhanced/en-us/Media/Preview.aspx?mediaid=30670
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About Volvo
Volvo Cars of North America, LLC, (www.volvocars.com/us) is a subsidiary of Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden. VCNA provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, and oversees Volvo operations in Canada. For more information please refer to the VCNA media website at: http://www.volvocars-pr.com, and follow Volvo’s blog at: www.volvoblog.us.
Contact:
Dan Johnston or Laura DiStefano
Volvo Cars of North America
800-977-0888
5 Comments
I wish I could afford one, I love volvo, and I regret selling the volvo I had, I miss my little v70
Hi Art,
There are those of us that think the V70 is a true example of Scandanivan design where form and function merge in such a way as to generate a calming feeling when one looks at it. It’s not a tough in your face design, nor too soft, nor too ‘me too’ appearence. It’s one of those kind of things the Swedes call ‘lagom’ – just right.
kind regards,
dan
If we can know the position. Other vehicle or person. Without having to look. It’s come to warn you about before the accident.
Not only with traffic only. It may be used for other applications as well.
It would be good if it would work. Now I have an idea of the device. But I do not have the capital or capitalists. Particularly in Thailand.
I would like to offer this idea to you because I know you is like looking for something new and visionary.
You will not only help me, but you will allow people using cars and roads safer.
Hi Jiratheep,
You are exactly right. What all drivers need is an extra driver with them. The point is to have a system that watches and reports to driver issues of concern. Our Blind Spot system does exactly that. Is it perfect, no, but it is there to help you catch a car coming up on your side that you might have missed. Same for all our accident avoidance technologies, they are there to first inform the driver, then if necessary to help by taking some sort of vehicle control. This is a whole new area for us, and other car companies, to explore and make solutions.
dan
The device that I would like to offer it without taking your eyes off the road. And do not have to listen to know that there are other vehicles where the distance around it.