Exceeding the legal safety demands
Many of the systems are already available on Volvo buses and exceed the EU’s General Safety Regulations (GSR), which start to come into force mid-2024. The GSR, which makes several advanced driver support systems mandatory, aims to increase road safety and improve the protection of vehicle occupants and other road users. By introducing the legislation, the EU expects to save over 25,000 lives and avoid 140,000 injuries by 2038.
“In fact, many of our active safety solutions go above and beyond what is legally required, and some were available long before they became mandatory,” says Thomas Forsberg. “For example, Side Collision Avoidance Support is offered on both sides of the bus, even though the upcoming regulation only requires detection on the passenger side. Volvo’s Collision Warning with Emergency Brake has been updated and improved, and now embraces scenarios involving vulnerable road users.”
Another useful safety feature that supports safe driving through speed management is the ISA, Intelligent Speed Assistance with road sign recognition. This function shows the driver the current speed limit, plus other information about the stretch of road, for example low bridges or sharp curves ahead, exceeding legal demands.
Seamless, integrated safety systems – for enhanced safe driving
The active safety systems offer a unique selling point – they are all developed in-house and integrated into the vehicle architecture as well as the driver environment. Information captured by sensors about the surrounding traffic environment is delivered and presented on each side of the driver or in the central instrument cluster.
“What are the best sensors on a bus? Of course, it is the eyes of the driver and those should be on the road as much as possible. For this reason, Volvo Buses has designed an integrated safety system without multiple warning displays that can be harder for the driver to keep track of,” says Thomas Forsberg.
