The
Volvo Traffic Accident Research Team: Gathering 'Know-How' That Saves
Lives
In Pursuit of Car Safety, Volvo's Research Team Has
Spent Nearly 30 Years Studying More Than 30,000 Real World Traffic Accidents
GOTHENBURG, Sweden,
June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Shortly after a Volvo engineer invented the three-point
seatbelt, which is now an industry standard, Volvo conducted a comprehensive
survey aimed at reducing injuries in auto accidents.
This 1966 survey
included every accident involving a Volvo in Sweden over a one-year
period. The result suggested that the belt reduced injuries by 50 percent.
Volvo realized that
by knowing what happens to the car, and its occupants, in an accident
can be invaluable to the product development of safer cars. So in 1970,
the Traffic Accident Research Team was formed. The unit has been working
continuously ever since.
"The need for
real know-how has not declined over the years, however we have refined
our working procedures," says Hans Norin, traffic accident researcher
at Volvo Cars.
Depth and breadth
Volvo accident researchers
work with both depth and breadth. In-depth studies of individual accidents
provide a wide range of insights:
-- the complex
mechanisms in different accident types
-- how the safeguard systems in the cars function
-- and, how the people sitting in the cars receive injuries
Concurrently, a
wide-range of statistics is gathered to establish relative predictability
in the type of accident. With this knowledge, Volvo Cars can determine
valuable priorities in new car development.
To attain accurate
accounts of what may have happened in an accident, detailed studies
are required. This all begins at the scene of the accident. When a serious
accident, involving a Volvo, occurs within a 60-mile radius of Volvo's
home city of Gothenburg, Sweden, the Traffic Accident Research Team
is alerted via the official emergency switchboard -- day or night.
At least one person
from Volvo Cars goes to the scene. Where possible, the police postpone
moving the vehicles until Volvo technicians arrive. Once on the scene
they conduct a general study, which is documented with measurements
and photographs. The police, the witnesses and, if possible, those directly
involved are all interviewed.
Afterwards, the
wreckage is transported to a workshop or to Volvo Cars' Safety Center
for further detailed analysis. At the same time, valuable information
about the occupants and their injuries is also gathered. The Safety
Center staff, the design department, and medical experts then analyze
the data.
Through various
collection procedures, a body of statistical accident data is established
to provide a correlation between the type of injury and the type of
accident.
Knowledge is the
key to Safety
The basic rule for
the Traffic Accident Research Team is that the more information that
can be obtained, the better. The purpose of their work is to learn more
about accidents and their consequences, knowledge that can subsequently
be applied in product development.
"Over our years
of working on safety we have become good at communicating -- and getting
people to listen to -- the know-how that the Traffic Accident Research
Team generates," says Hans Norin. "Many of the safety systems
in Volvo cars have been developed on the basis of knowledge obtained
from real accident studies by the Volvo Traffic Accident Research Team."
Source: Volvo
Cars of North America, LLC
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