Five Volvo Models get IIHS Top Safety Pick Award

Volvo Car Corporation's leadership in car safety is confirmed in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) 2012 Top Safety Pick award.

The U.S. award recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes - and no less than five Volvo models - the C30, S60, S80, XC60 and XC90 - earned a Top Safety Pick.

Volvo is the only European luxury brand with five awarded models in the new IIHS report.

"The risk of being involved in an accident or being injured in one of our latest car models has been reduced with more than two thirds compared with a Volvo from the 1970s. Now, we keep on moving towards our safety vision that nobody should die or suffer serious injuries in a new Volvo car by the year 2020", says Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor at Volvo Car Corporation.

IIHS Top Safety Pick is based on four accident scenario results*:

• Frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph (64 km/h) frontal offset crash tests.
• Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph (50 km/h). The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV.
• To earn a good rating for rollover protection, the car roof must withstand a force of four times the vehicle's weight before reaching five inches of crush.
• Rear crash protection is rated using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph (32 km/h).

Outstanding U.S. NCAP rating
Volvo Car Corporation's dedication to car safety has been recognized in several recent studies.
The XC60 is also the only SUV crossover with an IIHS Top Safety Pick and an overall 5 star U.S. NCAP rating. In the 2010 test, the XC60 received 5 stars in all individual crash tests, including 5 stars for the driver and 5 stars for the passenger in the frontal collision as well as 5 stars in both side tests.

Auto brake results in fewer accidents
Earlier this year, the benefits of the groundbreaking City Safety technology - featuring automatic braking in low speed situations - were documented in another IIHS report stating a reduction of the collision frequency with up to 22 percent. The IIHS study of insurance claims involving a Volvo XC60 shows that City Safety reduces the costs for personal injury claims with 51 percent - while vehicle repair costs were lowered by more than 20 percent.
A similar study by the Swedish insurance company Volvia shows that Volvo cars equipped with automatic braking are involved in 22 percent fewer rear end accidents than cars without auto brake.

 

**  Courtesy of Volvo Cars Newsroom