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The brand synonymous with car occupant safety is now putting pedestrians out of harm's way. Volvo is demonstrating its new Pedestrian Detection avoidance system in Australia ahead of its debut in the S60 sedan at the Australian International Motor Show next month.
The Chinese-owned Swedish brand said the safety system can detect a pedestrian stepping out onto the road and automatically activate the brakes if the driver does not react. Volvo Car Australia managing director Alan Desselss said Volvo was setting a new car safety benchmark.
"Volvo is committed to the safety of all road users and, with this system, arguably one of our most vulnerable road users is better protected than ever before."
"This technology has not been designed to take control away from the driver but merely acts as a back-up system which, unlike a human, can never be distracted," he said.
Monash University Accident Research Centre senior research fellow Dr Bruce Corben said travel speed is critically important to pedestrian safety.
"In-vehicle technologies that can detect pedestrians ahead, activate braking earlier and so shorten vehicle stopping distances, show considerable promise, not only in avoiding collisions but, by reducing injury risk through lower impact speeds when collisions do occur," he said.
Australian Automobile Association statistics show that over the last decade, 3449 pedestrians were killed on Australian roads, with more than a third over the age of 60 and 1 in 10 under the age of 14 years.
Volvo's new system - which will be teamed with adaptive cruise control - uses the radar in the grille and a camera behind the interior rear-view mirror to detect pedestrians 80cm and taller. The safety system will be optional on the new Volvo S60 sedan - which will start around $60,000 - as part of adaptive cruise control and collision warning system when it goes on sale in Australia in December.
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