Volvo 2014 Annual Report Download - page 14

A GLOBAL GROUP 2014 OPERATING CONTEXT TRANSPORT NEEDS TODAY AND TOMORROW
Every year, according to the World Health Organization, there are more
than 1.2 million road traffi c fatalities and as many as 50 million people are
injured in traffi c. The WHO predicts that traffi c fatalities could be among
the top fi ve causes of death worldwide by 2030. The tragedy of traffi c inju-
ries and fatalities is accentuated by the fact that the problems are worst
where resources to counteract them are the scarcest; for example, low and
middle income countries account for the majority of traffi c fatalities.
4Safety and security
Knowledge, vehicles and systems for safety and security
As a leading provider of transport solutions around the globe, the Volvo
Group works to adapt products and solutions based on the specifi c needs
of each society and market. Safety is one of the Volvo Group core values,
and we invest in advanced research and development and collaborate
with governmental and non-governmental partners to enhance vehicle
safety and security solutions. Our focus is to keep improving smart tech-
nology, features, and systems that protect people, vehicles and cargo.
The Volvo Group is dedicated to improving road safety and driver and
operator safety. The Group conducts traffi c safety activities in both
emerging and mature markets around the world. TheVolvo Group runs
seminars, supports information campaigns on safe driving behavior and
programs to helps educate children on traffi c, and works actively with
institutes and authorities in collecting in-depth accident causation data,
and support in the development of more effective road safety policies.
EXAMPLES OF OUR SOLUTIONS
As more nations and organizations set increasingly ambitious goals for
passenger and commercial traffi c safety, there is a growing trend for
authorities to regulate commercial vehicles and make some safety sys-
tems mandatory. As population and economies grow, the rising number of
vehicles to transport increasing volumes of goods adds to the widespread
risk of theft of both vehicles and goods. Safety and security, therefore,
continues to be a key focus for the transport and infrastructure industry.
The Group develops solutions to protect operators and drivers; for exam-
ple, to protect truck drivers from threats of break-ins, we offer security
solutions, such as multi-function alarms, alert buttons, anti-intrusion door
locking, and gas detectors.
The Volvo Group is in the forefront of developing new technology to
help reach our ultimate goal of zero accidents with Volvo Group products.
Volvo Group is an industrial partner in the world’s most advanced active
safety testing grounds, AstaZero, which was inaugurated in 2014. There
we will develop and test our future safety systems for heavy-duty vehicles.
Another example is the Non-Hit Car and Truck technology, which dramat-
ically reduces the risk of accidents caused by a limited fi eld of vision. In
the test phase now for Volvo Trucks, this technology enables the vehicle
to scan its surroundings for both vehicles and vulnerable road users and
alert the driver or even take automatic action when necessary.
The Volvo Group is at the forefront in the development of different safety and driver support systems. Among these are Adaptive Cruise
Control (ACC), which monitors the gap to the vehicle in front, and Forward Collision Warning and Emergency Braking, which automatically
assists in emergency braking if an impact is imminent. The Group is also engaged in several on-road pilot projects on automated driving,
including so called platooning, in the U.S., Europe and Japan.
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