Recently, a research project by the name European Field Operational Test (EuroFOT) was put together to explore some of the most innovative vehicle active safety systems. With some help from Volvo and 27 other organizations, real world tests were conducted across an 18 month time span to find out just how helpful systems such as adaptive cruise control really are. Using 100 V70 and XC70 models, 263 drivers returned 30 terra bytes of data so that five major safety features could be analyzed. With the study finalized, the results have further proved Volvo knows its way around vehicle safety.
“The analyses show that our world-leading focus on new safety and support technologies delivers results in everyday traffic conditions,” said Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Volvo Car Corporation. The study looked at five safety systems used by Volvo road cars: adaptive cruise control, collision warning, blind spot information, land departure warning and driver alert control. Each system returned solid results but one seemed to outshine the rest. Able to cut down the chances of a highway collision by 42 percent, Volvo’s adaptive cruise control uses front mounted cameras to keep a pre-determined distance from vehicles ahead. According to the study, 51 percent of the total miles covered were done so with the system on and 94 percent of the participants said they felt safer with it activated.
“The results from EuroFOT help us develop new, user-friendly and effective technologies that bring us closer to our goal of no injuries or fatalities in a new Volvo car in 2020,” said Mertens.
Source: Volvo
