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Seriously.
Fatality-free vehicles are not unprecedented. According to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there are nine vehicle models -- including the Volvo XC90 -- in which no one in the United States died in the four years from 2009 to 2012, the most recent period for which data is available.
Volvo wants to make this the case for its entire vehicle line throughout the world. The automaker already tracks how many people die in its vehicles in order to monitor safety. That way, engineers can tell how much safer their vehicles become each time they roll out a new crash-prevention technology. That also helps Volvo predict how much safer its vehicles will be with each new advancement.
Ultimately, all the new crash-prevention technologies will be tied to together to create a car that can, literally, drive itself. In fact, a number of automakers have promised to sell driver assisted cars by 2020.
Most of the technology that's required for driver assisted driving is already available from Volvo and other car-makers. Here's a look at the features that, when combined all together in one vehicle, will essentially make it crash proof:
Fatality-free vehicles are not unprecedented. According to data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there are nine vehicle models -- including the Volvo XC90 -- in which no one in the United States died in the four years from 2009 to 2012, the most recent period for which data is available.
Volvo wants to make this the case for its entire vehicle line throughout the world. The automaker already tracks how many people die in its vehicles in order to monitor safety. That way, engineers can tell how much safer their vehicles become each time they roll out a new crash-prevention technology. That also helps Volvo predict how much safer its vehicles will be with each new advancement.
Ultimately, all the new crash-prevention technologies will be tied to together to create a car that can, literally, drive itself. In fact, a number of automakers have promised to sell driver assisted cars by 2020.
Most of the technology that's required for driver assisted driving is already available from Volvo and other car-makers. Here's a look at the features that, when combined all together in one vehicle, will essentially make it crash proof:
Adaptive Cruise Control: Adaptive cruise control,
which is already available on many new cars, uses radar and sometimes
other sensors to detect vehicles on the road ahead. You set a maximum
speed and then your car maintains a safe following distance on its own,
operating the gas and the brakes for you. Some systems like this only
work at highway cruising speeds, but many can work even in stop-and-go
traffic.
Auto lane keeping assist: Cameras detect lane lines and
road edges, and the car steers itself to stay in its
lane.
Collision avoidance: Radar, cameras or other
sensors detect obstacles ahead and warn the driver. If the driver still
doesn't react, the car can apply the brakes automatically to avoid, or
at least reduce, the impact of a crash. In the United States, auto
safety regulators have found this technology particularly effective in
reducing
crashes.
Pedestrian detection: Cameras, including ones that
can see in the dark, are programmed to detect human forms that might
wander into the path of the car. Drivers can be alerted and again, the
car can brake
automatically.
Large animal detection: Hitting a
moose, deer or elk is definitely bad for the animal but it's also very
bad for a car's passengers. Volvo has created a system that can detect
when a big animal is walking in front of your car, saving both you and
the absent-minded
animal.