Your Volvo will now offer a feature similar to what navigation apps like Waze and Google Maps have provided for years. This feature will alert you to accidents ahead, allowing you to reduce speed, exercise caution, or choose an alternate route if traffic congestion is building up.
Volvo’s claim is that this feature is particularly useful in situations where a crash occurs shortly after a bend, where visibility ahead is limited, leaving little time for proactive reaction.
Using real-time data from a traffic management center, Volvo’s connected safety feature is making its debut in cars. Initially available in compatible Volvo models across Europe, Denmark is the first country to receive this feature. In Denmark, Volvo has partnered with the Danish Road Directorate to implement this function.
The goal is to help drivers avoid collisions and traffic jams caused by potential accidents ahead. The new Accident Ahead Alert can notify drivers about a traffic accident up to several hundred meters ahead, utilizing location data provided by national road authorities and compatible cars.
Volvo has embarked on a mission to reduce the number of fatalities in their vehicles to zero. As part of this mission, they introduced a self-imposed speed limit of 112 mph (180 kph) to all new cars starting in 2020. This move contrasts with rivals in the premium segment like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which maintain a speed limit of 155 mph (250 kph).
This speed limitation applies to all new Volvo cars, regardless of their powertrain, whether internal combustion engines or electric motors. This initiative is part of Volvo’s Vision 2020 safety plan, aimed at reducing the number of occupants killed or seriously injured in their vehicles.
How does the Accident Ahead Alert work? Volvo’s connected safety technology, introduced in 2016, utilizes Volvo Car’s cloud infrastructure to provide real-time data.
This technology allows Volvo cars to stay connected and communicate with each other, alerting drivers to slippery road conditions and other traffic-related hazards. The Accident Ahead Alert is another step towards proactive driving assistance.
Volvo states that more traffic data from partners in the European Data for Road Safety ecosystem will soon be available in their cars. They plan to collaborate with national management centers in other countries and other car brands. Volvo encourages other automakers to join in offering similar technologies to improve road safety for everyone.
The Accident Ahead Alert will be accessible on all Volvo car models from 2016 onwards in the 40, 60, and 90 series. To enable their cars to share anonymous information while respecting the owner’s privacy and receiving information from other cars, drivers need to activate the option using the “Connected Safety” feature from their center display.
The hazard lights alert on the dashboard will inform the driver of an accident ahead, and if the vehicle is equipped with a head-up display, the alert will also be shown there.