Volvo cars to share data on slippery road conditions and hazards

Volvo is rolling out technology across Europe that will allow its cars to talk to one another, as the automotive manufacturer attempts to improve traffic safety.

Hazard Light Alert and Slippery Road Alert, first introduced in 2016 in Volvo’s 90 Series in Sweden and Norway, allows the manufacturer’s cars to communicate and alert drivers of nearby slippery road conditions and hazards via a cloud-based network.

The features are now available to Volvo drivers across Europe and will come as standard on all new model year 2020 Volvos, and can be retrofitted for select earlier models.

“Sharing real-time safety data between cars can help avoid accidents,” explained Malin Ekholm, head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “Volvo owners directly contribute to making roads safer for other drivers that enable the feature, while they also benefit from early warnings to potentially dangerous conditions ahead.”

Volvo is making a big push to encourage better driver behaviour and safer driving.

From 2020, all Volvos will be speed-limited at 180 kph. The manufacturer will also install in-car cameras and other sensors that monitor the driver and allow the car to intervene in the event of an accident risk.

Volvo’s push follows the EU unveiling new rules last month that will force the adoption of technologies in vehicles designed to drastically reduce fatalities and injuries on European roads.

Changes to the General Safety Regulation, agreed by the European Commission, Council and Parliament, will make a host of technologies mandatory by 2022.

These include drowsiness and distraction warnings, intelligent speed assistance, telematics, advanced emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, blind spot reduction and systems for the detection and warning of vulnerable road users.

Mark Dugdale