Volvo Accident Research Team Continues to Revolutionize Passenger Safety
20 December 2000
Volvo Traffic Accident Research Team Continues to Revolutionize Passenger Safety After 30 Years GOTEBORG, Sweden, Dec. 20 For 30 years, teams of dedicated researchers have looked into history to help create the future of safety at Volvo Car Corporation. That's how long Volvo has been gathering and analyzing data from real car crashes in Sweden. This year, on the 30th anniversary of the Volvo Traffic Accident Research Team, generations of these safety researchers can look back on their work and know their contribution to innovations like the SIPS side impact protection system, the revolutionary WHIPS whiplash protection system and numerous child safety products have helped set new standards for safety at Volvo. The Volvo Cars Traffic Accident Research Team was launched in 1970 as a direct response to the company's road-traffic survey, conducted in Sweden in 1966 and 1967. From its initial research, the company understood the value of compiling information from actual accidents and made the research team a permanent part of the company's product development process. Over 28,000 accidents, involving more than 40,000 passengers, have been investigated. The research team concentrates on two main areas for gathering accident data: In-depth investigations of incidents at the actual sites, and statistical monitoring using data obtained from Volvo's own insurance company, Volvia. The incident research includes interviews with car occupants and studies of medical records that provide descriptions of personal injuries. The team is on constant standby and is alerted by the emergency services when serious incidents involving Volvo cars occur within a given distance from their headquarters in Goteborg in western Sweden. At an accident site, the researchers gather all the relevant data for later analysis, noting the precise details of the incident and its consequences. The team's doctor contacts the hospital treating any injured passengers in order to obtain information about their injuries. By studying the data, it has been possible to identify which personal injuries arise from different types of collisions and to examine incidents according to occupant category, both adults and children. The information gained from the Volvo team is provided to engineers at Volvo Cars, who use it to improve the existing safety systems and develop new ones to tackle the most common causes of personal injury. "Since we've been using data first-hand from actual accidents, it has always been easy for us to work closely with our engineers," says Volvo's Christer Gustafsson, who has been researching car accidents since 1980.