Volvo Cars Partner With POC To Develop World-first Car-bike Helmet Crash Tests
As part of a pioneering research project which aims to further protect cyclists, Volvo Cars has united with POC, a leading Swedish sports and safety brand, to assess bike helmets against cars in a series of world-first crash tests.
With Volvo Cars’ continued commitment to developing road safety innovations through sharing their knowledge as well as participating in multiple collaborations, the alliance with POC is a great example of this.
The research is based on Volvo Cars’ strategy to avoid accidents between a bike and a vehicle, as these types of incidents often lead to serious or fatal circumstances. Volvo Cars aim to evade these types of accidents all together, aided by active safety technologies.
Already featured in some Volvo models, the cyclist detection system uses auto brake, cameras and radars to detect cyclists and warn the driver of a potential incident. Should the driver fail to react, the technology applies the brakes if needed. However, the research is part of a wider project to recognise the effects and types of long-term injuries sustained by cyclists. Specially designed crash tests carried out at the Volvo Cars famous safety research facilities in Gothenburg, Sweden. The crash tests feature a POC bike helmet worn by a crash dummy, which is mounted on a testing rig. The crash dummy is then hurled at various speeds and angles towards a number of different locations on the hood of a static Volvo Car. With current testing measures for pedestrian head protection, Volvo Cars and POC are able to make a direct comparison against wearing a helmet and not wearing a helmet.
Existing bike helmet testing comprise of helmets being dropped from different heights on a number of flat or angled surfaces. These types of testing measures do not account for bike to vehicle collisions. Hence, the research being carried out by Volvo Cars and POC aims to refine this testing to take those types of accidents into account – in order to gain insights into making helmets safer and developing automotive technology to aid this further.
“Much like Volvo Cars, safety is at the very centre of our mission and drives all our ideas and innovations. By working closely with scientific leaders in the POC Lab we strive to lead the way in introducing new safety ideas. Certification standards are essential, but they should never limit our willingness to look beyond their parameters to find better and more innovative ways to reduce the consequences of accidents.”
Oscar Huss, head of product development at POC
As Volvo Cars are well known for exceeding regulations and going above and beyond for improved road safety, this research is another example of Volvo Cars commitment to reducing serious and fatal accidents on the road. Similarly, POC have received over 60 international awards for safety, innovation and design and often challenge existing regulations to introduce innovative ideas which reduce accidents. Both Volvo Cars and POC have accomplished a number of outstanding achievements within safety in their industries, in the hope of reducing serious and fatal accidents. This research is a great example of challenging existing regulations to further improve road safety for everyone.
To find out more or to book a test drive, please contact Caffyns Volvo Eastbourne today.