The Volvo Cars Study

Comparing Volvo car models from 2010–2019 with models from 1970–1979, overall injury risk for drivers has decreased by 79%. For women, the reduction is greater, at 88%, bringing injury risk to the same level as that of men.
• The results also show substantial advances in occupant protection across all seating positions. Restrained rear-seat occupants in Volvo cars benefit from protection levels comparable to, and in some cases exceeding, those of front-seat occupants.
• “This underscores the effectiveness of decades of rear-seat safety innovation in Volvo cars, despite the lack of stringent regulatory requirements and standardized testing over the years,” Volvo Cars said in a release.

The Approach Behind Equal Safety for Everyone

“Since 1970, Volvo Cars has collected data from over 50,000 real-world crashes involving more than 80,000 occupants. Through its Circle of Life safety development approach, these insights are translated into safety requirements, testing, vehicle development, verification and production. The result is a continuous cycle of learning that helps drive innovations and improve protection for everyone.

“This approach has also laid the foundation for the pioneering Volvo Cars Safety Standard. Volvo Cars sets its own benchmark for real-world safety, going above and beyond what is required in regulations or safety ratings. This includes developing and testing cars for a wider range of real-world crash scenarios across all seating positions.

“And because real world crashes don’t involve standardized crash test dummies, Volvo Cars’ research involves considering a diverse range of occupant characteristics, including gender, height, body shape and weight. As a result, the company’s safety innovations are designed with the same diversity in mind.

“Volvo Cars for decades has openly shared its safety research to help raise safety standards across the industry. As part of the Equal Vehicles for All (E.V.A.) initiative, launched in 2019, more than 50 years of safety research is freely accessible in a digital library – enabling other carmakers, researchers and policymakers to build on Volvo Cars’ unique real-world safety insights.” Volvo Cars said.