Thursday, July 30, 2009

Volvo Developing New Safety Sensors

Part of Europe-wide research
Shipping News Feature

EUROPE – Revolutionary new safety features could become standard on European trucks in the near future. A research study into technologies to warn drivers of hazards in low visibility and pass information between vehicles is going well.

The Safespot project, which is partly financed by the EU, was started in 2006 and today encompasses 51 participants from twelve European countries. Many of the major European vehicle manufacturers are involved, as well as suppliers, universities and road administration authorities.

Volvo’s traffic and product safety director, Carl Johan Almqvist, says that: “We are already way ahead in the development of this technology. Communication between vehicles is no utopian dream.”

“This will open the door to an entirely new generation of accident-prevention safety solutions,” he added.

According to Volvo, traffic on Europe’s roads increased threefold between 1970 and 2000. Every year, about 40,000 people die on Europe's roads and about 1.7 million people are injured.

http://www.volvo.com/trucks/global/en-gb/newsmedia/news_and_media.htm