Volvo Car Group’s pioneering work on pedestrian protection has been rewarded with the 2013 Global NCAP Innovation award.

At the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Conference in Seoul, South Korea, Prof. Lotta Jakobsson held a presentation about Volvo Cars’ achievements within pedestrian protection.

“The purpose of the world’s first airbag for pedestrians is to help protect these vulnerable road users in certain situations when they impact the bonnet and the area around the windscreen, where there may be a risk of serious head injuries,” said Lotta Jakobsson.

Volvo addressing a global challenge

A large percentage of traffic fatalities around the world involve pedestrians. The most serious head injuries involving pedestrians and cars are caused by the hard structure under the bonnet panel, the windscreen’s lower edge and the A-pillars.

In 2010, Volvo Cars counteracted the statistics by launching Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake, and in 2012 launched the Volvo V40 with the worlds first Pedestrian Airbag Technology.

The Pedestrian Detection system can avoid a collision with a pedestrian at speeds of up to 35 km/h if the driver does not respond in time. At higher speeds, the focus is on reducing the car’s speed as much as possible before the collision.

The Volvo V40 also achieved a five-star Euro NCAP rating and won the Euro NCAP Best in Class in the Small Family class. The V40 further scored an all-time high in the pedestrian evaluation by attaining 88% of the total score.

“Several studies have documented that our collision-avoiding systems lead to significant accident reductions in real-life traffic. By continuously introducing new preventive and protective systems, we keep moving towards our aim that by 2020 no one should be injured or killed in a new Volvo,” concluded Jakobsson.