Volvo's innovative technology is on track to make our daily commutes easier and faster!

Volvo to introduce new traffic jam assistance system

Crashes in slow-moving traffic may not be at the top of anyone’s list of pressing highway issues, but the reality is they cause a staggering amount of trouble for everyone on the road. Volvo recently announced a plan to minimize the exhausting chore of keeping alert in extended stop-and-go driving, though, and the company aims to equip all their vehicles with the technology by 2014.

Their “traffic jam assistance function” is an evolution of their current Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Aid technology introduced in the all-new Volvo V40 earlier this year. A push of a button activates the system and the car automatically maintains a set distance to the vehicle in front of it. At any time, the driver can take back control of the car.

The system ought to be given a round of applause. Right now, on your daily road commute to and from work in stop-and-go traffic, all any driver has to do is give a good bump to the car ahead and both drivers have to stop and get out of their cars to survey the damage while tens of thousands of cars behind them merge to remaining lanes, causing massive delays, billions of gallons of wasted gas and, in some cases, more crashes. In worst-case scenarios, one or more of the cars are disabled, people are injured or worse, and the police, emergency vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances have to quickly get to the scene while a whole highway system is essentially shut down.

"This technology makes driving more relaxed in the kind of monotonous queuing that is a less attractive part of daily driving in urban areas. It offers you a safe, effortless drive in slow traffic," says Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research and Development of Volvo Car Corporation.

Volvo, a leader in auto safety, isn’t stopping there. Their eventual aim is to popularize “autonomous” driving, whereby a car’s steering, braking and acceleration are controlled by means other than driver input.

On top of improved safety, the technology offers several advantages:

• Autonomous driving can cut fuel consumption significantly.

• It has the potential for shortening travel times by improving traffic flow.

• It paves the way for more freedom behind the wheel by creating possibilities for the driver to safely focus on something else while the car is driven autonomously.

"The average driver spends about 250 hours commuting every year. We believe that being able to use the time more efficiently will benefit both the individual and the society," stated Peter Mertens.

 

Courtesy of NY Daily News