(Riya Singh, Intern Journalist): Inaction since 1970, the Volvo Cars Accident Research team is celebrating 50 years of collecting and analyzing data from car accidents in a pursuit to enhance the safety of Volvo’s cars. The team, whenever possible, physically inspects the scene of an accident, gathers data, works with the authorities, and forms conclusions that help Volvo develop and implement new technologies to improve vehicular safety.
In the event of an accident involving a Volvo near Gothenburg, Sweden, the team gets to the scene, day or night, as soon as possible to document and investigate the sequence of events in detail. The team analyses aspects like the force of the impact, the reaction and behaviour of on-board safety systems, the condition of passengers as well as factors like weather, time, road conditions, etc. The team even requests access to police reports and interaction with the driver to understand the sequence of events in greater detail. In fact, the team tries to understand the accident from the driver’s perspective with the help Volvo Cars Safety Centre’s behavioural scientists. Biomechanics experts along with physicists analyse injuries sustained to determine the exact cause.
Conclusions are drawn from the analysis of all this data and shared with Volvo’s product development team to help them develop and implement new technologies and features for future products.
While the team investigates around 30 to 50 accidents in person annually, data from the ones that happen in locations that might not be within reach of the team around the world is gathered with the help of Volvo personnel and emergency services closer to the site of the accident.
Malin Ekholm, head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre says, “the Accident Research Team’s hard work and research allow Volvo Cars to make sure that a tragic traffic accident can lead to something good: ever safer cars. By closely analyzing what has happened during each phase of an accident, the team provides crucial information on what can be improved on our cars.”
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