Volvo develops new bike helmet crash-test to help keep cyclists safe in car accidents
After spending years beefing up its cars with safety tech for drivers and passengers, Volvo has aimed its next safety focus towards cyclists.Volvo has teamed up with Swedish sports and safety brand POC for a series of world-first crash tests of bike helmets against their vehicles. The new research project aims to further protect cyclists in serious accidents between bikes and cars causing injury or even death.
On average, 38 cyclists die in accidents with vehicles every year in Australia. Research released from The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare which collated data from 1999 to 2016 found that there were a total of 651 deaths and 160,000 cyclists admitted to hospital with injuries during that 17 year period.
The Swedish car brand has added many pedestrian and cyclist detection and safety assistance utilising its many cameras and radars, so this investment into cyclist protection outside of the vehicle seems like the next logical step. Although bike helmets are subject to testing, these do not include impact with car bonnets which present a very different type of impact to the rider compared to a collision with the road.
The testing of these POC helmets were worn by crash dummy heads mounted on a testing rig, from where they are launched towards different areas of the bonnet of a stationary Volvo at different speeds and angles to simulate real world incidents.
Malin Ekholm, Head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre sees this collaboration with POC as a good example of the company’s innovative spirit around safety, “We often develop new testing methods for challenging traffic scenarios. Our aim is not only to meet legal requirements or pass rating tests; instead, we go beyond ratings, using real traffic situations to develop technology that further improves safety.”
More recently, Volvo has focused on protecting people outside of its cars via its new tech systems such as pedestrian detection, cyclist detection and the pedestrian air bag which was deployed from under the car’s bonnet.
Will we see Volvo branded helmets on bike shop shelves, most likely not but this investment in safety not just for drivers and passengers appears to be a good step towards a safer mobility future and another way for Volvo to continue to lead the safety invest pack.
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