Skip to main content

Safety system

Carmaker Volvo is well known for the safety features it fits to its vehicles. However, one of the latest failed spectacularly at a recent demonstration in front of the motoring press. The demonstration was supposed to show how the automatic braking system ensures that the new Volvo models will be able to reduce the risk of accidents. The car was driven at the rear of a truck and was supposed to come to an emergency stop but instead ploughed straight into the vehicle, resulting in wry smirks amongst the asse
February 22, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Carmaker Volvo is well known for the safety features it fits to its vehicles. However, one of the latest failed spectacularly at a recent demonstration in front of the motoring press. The demonstration was supposed to show how the automatic braking system ensures that the new Volvo models will be able to reduce the risk of accidents. The car was driven at the rear of a truck and was supposed to come to an emergency stop but instead ploughed straight into the vehicle, resulting in wry smirks amongst the assembled press. The fault was blamed on a flat battery that foiled the vehicle's sophisticated electronics. The car, Volvo's new S60 model, is now available. Whether or not new owners will find the automatic braking system more reliable, remains to be seen.

Related Content

  • Driverless vehicles -safe at any speed?
    May 22, 2018
    The development of driverless vehicles is ongoing, with manufacturers in the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China all working on various projects. But as the recent pedestrian fatality involving a driverless car under test in Arizona highlights, safety is not entirely assured. One key problem is that the road environment is not straightforward and self-driving vehicles have to share roadspace with vehicles under human control. However, human behaviour is not easy to predict. Nor is there one mode of beh
  • Europe’s road safety challenge for the future
    March 2, 2022
    Europe’s road safety challenge is to reduce casualties for the future.
  • Future fuels providing power to the wheels?
    August 7, 2014
    Ever since Henry Ford began mass manufacturing his Model T in 1908, the motor car has grown vastly in importance and has helped transform transportation. However the future availability of fossil fuels as well as concerns over pollution and climate change from CO2 emissions has seen the auto industry look to alternative powertrain solutions. Looking at the powertrain possibilities for the future there are a number of options. Hybrids to a large extent are an interim solution while those for the longer ter
  • Europe’s road safety figures disappoint
    March 28, 2017
    Europe’s road safety is failing to improve despite a string of measures introduced in recent years. The European Commission has published new data showing that deaths on EU roads fell by just 2% last year. This followed a 1% increase in road deaths during 2015. According to ETSC analysis, road deaths will now need to fall by 11.5%/year in order to meet the EU target of cutting deaths by half in the decade to 2020. Commenting on the publication of the latest figures, Antonio Avenoso, Executive Directo