Volvo cars' low speed collision prevention system, City Safety, has been awarded "innovation of the Year" by the German based magazine "Auto Bild Allrad" - Volvo is hereby the first car manufacturer to win the award twice.
The highly-sought honour has been awarded to Volvo Car Corporation as part of the reader vote for the "All-Wheel Drive Car of the Year 2009" conducted by the four wheel drive magazine "Auto Bild Allrad". The new driver support system Volvo City Safety can prevent typical collisions at low speeds or at least significantly reduce the consequences of such an accident. The safety system is available as a world first standard feature in the new Volvo XC60.
"We are very proud of this award because it honours significant technical innovations which influence the entire automotive industry," said Thomas Viehweg, managing director of Volvo Car Germany, at the award ceremony in Leipzig on Thursday.
"The award for us is a confirmation of our commitment to improve automotive safety, an element which is inseparably integrated into the Volvo corporate philosophy. And we are currently expending great effort on the development of additional innovative technologies for passenger protection because we want to maintain our position as world leaders when it comes to safety," emphasised Thomas Viehweg.
The innovation price is awarded by "Auto Bild Allrad" once a year to the most interesting new technological development related to vehicles with all-wheel drive.
The jury members are chosen from the editorial staff of Europe's best-selling journal for all-wheel drive vehicles. By the way, Volvo is the first manufacturer to receive the award for a second time. The first award was given for the roll-over protection system (ROPS) in the Volvo XC90; this system is also a standard feature of the new Volvo XC60.
The award "All-Wheel Drive Innovation of the Year" is already the second major honour for the Volvo safety system in Germany in 2009. Volvo City Safety was honoured at the beginning of the year when it received the "Paul Pietsch Award 2009" from the journal "auto, motor und sport", which has been given since 1989 to especially innovative automobile developments.
Facts about Volvo's City Safety System
Volvo City Safety provides more security, especially in inner city traffic and in typical stop-and-go situations, and is enabled at speeds up to 30 kph. It uses an optical laser for the continuous monitoring of the traffic. For example, City Safety recognises a sudden braking by the vehicle in front of the car. If the driver does not react, the system automatically triggers an emergency stop. If the relative speed between the two vehicles is less than 15 kph, a collision is avoided completely. In the range between 15 kph and 30 kph, the aim is to reduce the collision speed as far as possible, minimising the consequences of the accident. Safety is further enhanced by the interaction of the system, which functions both day and night, with the electronic control elements for the airbags and the adaptive belt force limiters.
