Safety technology – the pinnacle of modern luxury cars

On Volvo’s global website, the company has dedicated a content corner (My Volvo Stories) for customers to share their own stories about the times they were saved by the car in the event of an accident. The cars crushed the head or the whole body, but the people inside were still unharmed.

The stories of Volvo users are just a small number of the billions of people around the world who drive every day and face constant safety risks that lead to traffic accidents. The good news is that the number of car users is increasing rapidly, the transportation system is expanding and complex, but the fatality rate in accidents is decreasing.

Safety technology is the key, which companies are striving towards, the pinnacle of which lies in the luxury car world. Multimedia entertainment systems, soft leather seats or a powerful engine with hundreds of horsepower represent the ego of the user, but only safety technology shows the responsibility of the driver, and of the driver. car company.

Cars are getting safer

According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, part of the US Department of Transportation, the death rate every 160 million kilometers (100 million miles) in 1960 was 5.1 people. This number will drop to 1.34 people by 2020. This is due, in part, to the fact that modern cars are becoming safer. Active and passive driver assistance technologies help reduce the risk of collisions and lower the level of injury for passengers.

The evolution of automotive safety technologies spans over 60 years and continues. In-depth research and development technology allow automotive engineers to come up with solutions that protect not only the occupants but also the pedestrians outside.

Three-point seat belts can be considered as one of the earliest and most important inventions in protecting car occupants when accidents occur. Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin invented the device in 1959. To ensure every car could be fitted with a three-point seat belt, Volvo gave up ownership of the patent, ever since. Three-point seat belts become standard equipment on all models of the automakers.

After seat belts, a series of other innovations have been put into use in cars. This number must include the headrest of the seat for the occupants to avoid the risk of neck injury when the vehicle is hit hard at high speed, appearing in cars in 1969. In the following years, dual airbags for occupants in the car cabin. , tire pressure warning system, ABS brake, electronic balance, rear camera, blind spot warning… respectively appeared.

These technologies are already common in the automotive industry. For some brands, driver safety features may be optional, but for Volvo and many others, it’s standard equipment.

The race between automakers and technology companies in the auto industry continues to create new safety features. Safety in the car is as if there is no concept of “best”, instead it is safer and safer. For example, 3-point seat belts range from simple to extra-emergency pretensioners (first developed by Ford). Airbag from the seat only in the front passenger, now has more side airbags, airbag in the bonnet. Brake assist from the level of assistance to automatically intervene in urgent situations when the driver loses concentration and all happens faster than a blink of an eye.

Car safety features are becoming more and more abundant. On luxury and high-end models such as Volvo, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Land Rover, Audi… sometimes customers cannot fully understand all the safety technologies that are operating on a vehicle.

Modern technologies in cars

Volvo is one of the car companies that invest the most in research and application of new safety technologies for cars. The company even sets a goal that by 2020, no one will die while driving a Volvo.

The Swedish automaker owns many special safety technologies. Volvo is a pioneer in using super-hard boron steel to form a sturdy frame that protects passengers. Along with the front and rear body structure for the purpose of absorbing impulses, Volvo cars can deform and distort heavily in the event of an accident, but the most important thing is that the people in the car are still safe.

In 1991, Volvo introduced the side impact protection system (SIPS). The system includes sturdy reinforced seats, floor rails and energy-absorbing materials in the chassis structure. Until 1994, side airbags were added to improve safety. Four years later, Volvo continues to offer a new safety device, an inflatable curtain like an airbag, which is integrated into the roof frame and can absorb significant energy when impacted on the front and side of the vehicle.

Volvo is also the first company to apply airbag in the bonnet with the goal of not only safe occupants but also road users. In 2011, the Volvo V40 model was released and had this equipment. In the event of a collision, a jet of thrust air activates the airbag in the bonnet position near the windshield, helping the person hit by a vehicle to increase their chances of survival.

Besides Volvo, many other luxury car manufacturers are also researching new safety features to make driving safer. In 2017, when it launched the company’s most advanced A8 saloon, Audi introduced “lifting” technology to protect the driver.

The suspension system of the A8 is equipped with a 48 V electric motor, combining a rotating tube and a titanium torsion bar, capable of independently raising and lowering each wheel. When sensors and cameras detect an impending collision, this function can be activated to react immediately, raising the chassis higher to limit the occupants in direct contact with the impulse. Instead, hard and durable parts such as chassis, door sills. As a result, the risk of injury to the occupants is reduced.

Mercedes is a big player in the luxury car market. The company pioneers in applying safety technologies to cars such as ABS brakes, ESP electronic balance, pre-collision warning system combined with emergency braking.

In 2020, the German automaker installed front airbags for rear passengers. This is the first time a commercial vehicle has had this feature. The airbag is hidden on the back of the driver and passenger seats. In the event of a collision, the U-shaped airbag is activated and inflates to protect the head.

The CCTV camera that replaces the rearview mirror on a Lexus is another example of the evolution of automotive safety technology. In 2018, the Japanese luxury car company introduced this technology on the domestically sold ES.

The image display system outside the vehicle instead of the rearview mirror of Lexus works thanks to a surveillance camera mounted on each side and transmits images to two 5-inch screens at the foot of the A-pillar for the driver to observe. When the driver turns the turn signal, the camera will zoom out into the whole scene for a wider view. If a vehicle is detected entering the blind spot, the rearview camera will automatically adjust to that angle.

When reversing, the system will adjust the camera for the widest viewing angle. Or when driving at night, the camera automatically adjusts the image brightness, or reduces the anti-glare light when the headlights are on. The rearview camera is placed deep into a small cavity, which helps to resist rain or snow and can be folded like a rearview mirror, integrated with LED turn signals, integrated heating.

In a car, customers can find a surround sound system such as a theater, a multi-zone display for each individual, a refrigerator containing a bottle of fine champagne or a soft ball shock absorber like gliding on a carpet. fly. But all that will become meaningless, if the core value of the car is not guaranteed.

From the first days, and until the end, cars are still a means of transportation, transporting people, so its core value is to help each person get there, get there, enjoy and be safe. If you’re not safe, you don’t have a chance to enjoy comfort. And Volvo, or other luxury automakers, invest a lot of money in safety technology, to clearly demonstrate the value of a modern luxury car.

Thanh Nhan