The standard safety package in the all-new Volvo XC90 includes a world-first run-off road protection package. Addressing these common and complex situations will take Volvo Cars another step closer to its vision that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by 2020.
"Our solution focuses on keeping the occupants firmly in position and introducing unique 'energy-absorbing' functionality in the seat. This counteracts spine injuries, which are serious and relatively frequent consequences of run-off road scenarios," says Prof. Lotta Jakobsson, Senior Technical Specialist Safety at Volvo Cars Safety Centre.
Run-off road is a common accident type with different causes, such as driver inattentiveness, fatigue or poor weather conditions. For example, half of all traffic fatalities in the United States are road departure crashes, while in Sweden, single-vehicle accidents involve one-third of all fatal and severe injury crashes with passenger cars.
Run-off road crashes are also very complex situations in which occupants often move in random directions - which puts high demands on the interior restraints.
Not covered by any rating programme
There are not yet any regulatory or rating tests to examine a car's ability to handle run-off road crashes. "Committing to safety is not about passing a test or getting a ranking," says Lotta Jakobsson. "It is about finding out how and why crashes and injuries occur and then developing the technology to prevent them. To reach our Vision 2020, we have to cover all accident types that occur in real-life traffic."
