Accidents caused by car doors happen more often than you think. Just like what you’ve read in the title, around 60 cyclists are killed by car doors every year, and this only includes cases reported in the UK. Volvo, the Swedish carmaker that is big on safety, is attempting to stop, or at least reduce these accidents with its upcoming Volvo EX30 fully-electric SUV.
Volvo says the EX30 will be coming with a suite of new advanced safety features packaged as the Safe Space Technology. This includes a series of safety features, such as the door-opening alert.
The door-opening alert feature essentially warns drivers via visual and audio cues whenever they are about to open the door in front of a passing cyclist, motorcyclist or other traffic user. This can come useful when the driver is distracted or not alert and can help prevent unwanted accidents from happening.
Volvo Head of Safety Centre, Asa Haglund said, “We have long had a focus on safety in city environments where cars share space with pedestrians and cyclists. With the Volvo EX30, we are taking city safety to the next level, creating a small SUV that is your perfect companion for a comfortable driving experience, while it looks after you and other people on the busy streets of modern cities.”
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The Volvo EX30 also comes standard with a new advanced driver alert system. Claimed to look out for drivers when they are not at their best, the car comes with a special sensor behind the steering wheel that comes with powerful algorithms and is able to detect the driver’s eye and face movement around 13 times per second. With the sensor, the Volvo EX30 can then attempt to understand if the driver is distracted, drowsy or inattentive.
Another new active safety feature the Volvo EX30 will be coming with is the brand’s new intersection auto brake feature. This feature is designed to help drivers avoid accidents at intersections, by pulling the car to a stop in the event of another car crossing the driver’s path in front unexpectedly, in order to help mitigate or avoid a collision.
Besides active safety features, Volvo will also be equipping the EX30 with a series of passive safety features. This includes strengthening the car’s safety cage, the A, B, and C pillars, as well as the roof, to give the EX30 a robust structural design and customers peace of mind.
The EX30 is included with a far-side airbag on the inside of the driver’s seat as well. The far-side airbag is designed to help reduce head and thorax injuries in the event of a side impact.
Because the EX30 is an electric car, Volvo has also put a lot of focus on the car’s battery integrity. As a result, the electric SUV’s chassis and safety cage is built with various forms of high-strength steel, which can help offset the impact of a possible crash in an efficient way.
As for the car’s other active safety and driver support systems, Volvo will share more details when the EX30 is revealed, during its global debut on June 7, 2023. Customers in selected markets will also be able to order or pre-order the new fully-electric SUV on the same day.
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