Volvo sticks to zero-fatality safety pledge

Safety is arguably Volvo’s core guiding principle, and although its desire to achieve zero deaths in its cars may be unobtainable, it’s not backing away from its so-called ‘safety vision’.

In 2014, the Swedish car-maker laid down its Vision 2020 that aimed to reduce the number of people that die or are seriously injured in road traffic accidents involving Volvo cars to zero.

Although the company did not realise its ambition – which it claims was never meant to be a firm target – Volvo Car Corporation’s senior technical advisor on safety, Thomas Broberg, said this week there are no regrets and that the ‘vision’ still stands.

“No, I don’t regret it at all. And we don’t regret it at all,” Broberg told journalists in Sweden.

“It’s totally in line with our philosophy and our heritage.

“I would say we set people first and, to me, you can’t have a different mindset. Because if you had another sort of ambition or target [that isn’t zero deaths], who should you choose – in this room?” he asked.

“Which of you should we choose?

“It’s a vision and the vision still remains, yes, definitely. And the big part now that we see, the bigger gaps that we have, it’s intoxication, distraction and speeding.”

Volvo invented the three-point seat belt in the late 1950s, leaving the patent open and saving more than a million lives since then as a result, according to the car-maker.

Today, Volvo is preparing to introduce a system that won’t allow drunk or drug-affected drivers to operate its cars, while all models across its range are now limited to a top speed of 180km/h in a bid to improve safety.

The incoming 2024 Volvo EX90 is also billed as the safest car the manufacturer has ever conceived, including advanced technology such as Lidar.

Safety is a two-way street

Reaching zero fatalities may ultimately hinge on fully autonomous vehicles, where humans are removed from the driving equation completely.

In the meantime, Broberg, who acknowledged that the ambition is “extremely difficult to define”, said ongoing improvements to vehicle safety technology and understanding of driver behaviour (such as through crash data) would be key elements.

He also emphasised that it was a problem for society as a whole to address, not just car-makers.

“It’s not only our problem. I mean, it is a societal problem if you look at traffic accidents, fatalities and casualties on the roads,” he said.

“If I were to go to any authority in the world today, and I come and I say, ‘I have this new great innovation for individual transportation, it’s called a car, it has four wheels and you can drive it on your own. It has one thing though: It will kill 30,000 Europeans each year…’

“Do you think that would have been allowed?

“I mean, if we look at any other sort of consumer items that we have today, that is not acceptable.

“But in road traffic, we have … over the years accepted that there are risks associated, even though the risk is extremely small. The risk is there. And if you look at the pure numbers, it’s mind-blowing.

“So to create that awareness [of safety], I think it’s important. That’s why these [vision zero] statements are important and that’s also why I think if you believe in humans, you can’t have any other vision or any other ambition.”

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