Models from Volvo Cars and Volvo Trucks equipped with compatible technology will soon be able to share information about road hazards with each other. When any equipped Volvo switches on its hazard lights, an anonymised alert will be sent out via the driver’s internet-connected mobile phone to all nearby Volvos. This warns drivers approaching the location and helps to avoid accidents.
Hazard Light Alert has been standard on 90 and 60 series and XC40 cars delivered in Sweden and Norway since 2016. Volvo Cars and Volvo Trucks have not been part of the same company since the car division was sold to Ford in 1999. Nevertheless, the two companies have now agreed to share data between selected trucks and cars.
“Sharing real-time safety data based on our connected safety technology can help avoid accidents,” said Malin Ekholm, vice president of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “The more vehicles we have sharing safety data in real time, the safer our roads become. We look forward to establishing further collaborations with other partners who share our commitment to traffic safety.”
Alerting other drivers to potential hazards is particularly useful on blind corners and over the crest of hills in the road. Adding selected models of Volvo Trucks’ fleet to the cloud will cover more area, identify more potential hazards and could boost overall traffic safety.
Partnerships such as this are small but vital steps towards true V2V communication between all vehicles, which is a major goal in making successful AVs a reality. Getting all manufacturers to agree on a standard for V2V communication will still take quite some time.
By Ilya Verpraet
