Volvo Promises a Death-Proof Car by 2020? | Chicago Car Crash Attorneys
By Matthew Willens
May. 31, 2016 8:06a
Technological advancements have made vehicles much safer than they were a decade back. However, Volvo is all set to take this to a whole new level by delivering a car that will be “death proof”.
"By 2020, no one will be killed or even seriously injured in a new Volvo car or SUV.” This is certainly great news. Who would not like a car that will keep them safe from injury and death? In this post, we will discuss some safety features that Volvo is working on, and how they will affect road safety.
The new Volvo cars will cutting edge safety features that include:
Adaptive Cruise Control: The driver needs to set a maximum speed, and the car then maintains a safe following distance on its own. It operates the brakes and gas for you.
Collision avoidance: The cars will feature cameras, radars, and some other sensors that will detect obstacles and warn the driver of them. If the driver fails to react despite the warning, the car will apply the brakes automatically to avoid or reduce the impact the crash.
Pedestrian detection: The new Volvo cars will have cameras that can see in the dark, and are programmed to detect humans that may come in the path of the vehicle. The car will alert the driver of the pedestrian and if the driver fails to react, it will apply brakes automatically.
Auto lane keeping assist: These cars will also feature cameras that detect road edges and lane lines, and the car steers itself to stay in the lane.
Large animal detection: This is probably first of its kind safety feature. Volvo has created a system that can detect the presence of a large animal walking in the path of the car. It can save both the occupants of the car, and the animal.
Volvo has proved its mettle as far safety is concerned. In the past 4 years, no deaths have been reported in certain models of Volvo cars, which is something great and to be proud of. However, even with all the safety features, the car may not be able to prevent
human errors and negligence.So, the ultimate responsibility of safe driving remains with the
drivers. No safety components of software can prevent a distracted or careless drivers from committing a mistake or being careless as long as the driver is in control of the vehicle even to some extent.
So, we cannot completely rely on technology to keep us safe while on the road. It is extremely important to follow three cardinal rules of road safety, which are, slow down,
do not drive distracted, and
pay attention. If we all followed these three simple rules, we won’t have to wait till 2020 to stay safe.