Fatigue is potentially responsible for 6,000 fatalities on the road per year. Just as extreme snowy conditions present difficulties for drivers, moving in heavy traffic on city streets can also be very hazardous. Volvo recently announced its aim to have no fatalities involving a Volvo from 2020. This may seem overly ambitious, but the company’s impressive safety record to date is pointing them in the right direction. What is more, the City Safety technology that is now being putting into practice has been shown to reduce accident claims by 28%. The technology is set to increase the chances of reducing injury-inducing crashes and preventing fatalities on the road.
What is City Safety Technology?
The aim of City Safety Technology is to help drivers on busy city roads, alerting them to any movement or pedestrians near the car that might be unseen. It combines an internal camera with a radar, which can scan around the car and detect the vicinity of any nearby movement. With 6,000 pedestrians killed in car crashes for the past two years, the technology, therefore, provides an extra level of visibility and security. This is particularly useful for modern SUVs and other large cars, whose higher seating position can sometimes make a blind spot larger.
The automatic braking system
If a potential collision is detected by the technology, it will notify the driver straight away. The technology will prompt lights to shine in the driver’s field of vision, in order to allow him or her to react accordingly. If the driver does not react quickly enough, the automatic braking system kicks in, reducing the speed of the car by 50%. The car will be brought to a standstill if it is still on course to collide with something or someone. However, the driver will still have full control of the car if they react quickly enough and appropriately.
How might City Safety technology prevent a collision?
There are various moments in which City Safety Technology will kick in. These include when the car turns left at the same time as a blind-sided pedestrian or cyclist is coming head-on. City Safety Technology can also identify sudden movements from pedestrians, vehicles or animals, swerving into your lane or crossing the road in front of you. The technology may be able to stop a collision altogether if the movement is less than 28 mph. If it is above this, the technology can help lessen the impact of the collision considerably.
City Safety technology: making a potentially life-saving impact
Technology plays an increasingly prominent role in day-to-day life. Sometimes, it might seem to some that it over complicates things. However, a technology that helps improve road safety is always going to be important. The safety features of technology such as City Safety, together with its positive results so far, are extremely encouraging. All being well, City Safety will continue to keep drivers and pedestrians alike safe and help Volvo achieve its goal of not having any of its cars involved in fatal crashes.