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Volvo will limit top speed to 112 mph on all models
Swedish automaker wants zero people killed in Volvos by 2020
Volvo said on Monday it will limit the top speed on all its new cars to 180 kph (112 mph) starting in 2020, which is the same year the Swedish automaker wants there to be zero people killed or seriously injured in any of its new models.
The change will be implemented globally starting in the second quarter of next year on vehicles planned for the 2021 model year.
Volvo is taking the bold step because its researchers have identified speed as a prominent gap it needs to close to reach its safety target.
"We need to talk about this problem," Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson toldAutomotive News Europe, referring to the areas that remain to be solved to end serious injuries and fatalities in its vehicles. Although speed limits exist in most countries, he said that people are still exceeding those limits by a wide margin. Volvo believes that controlling the speed in its models is worth it even if it can save just one life.
Excluding specially tuned cars such as the Polestar Engineered variant of the S60 sedan, no Volvo vehicles currently offer a top speed that exceeds 250 kph.
Samuelsson said that he expects pushback from the move, but Volvo received similar criticism that it was taking away a driver's freedom when it added seat belts to its cars 60 years ago.
"If someone is going to show leadership in safety, it needs to be Volvo," he said.
Samuelsson added that he believes that the move will not turn away Volvo's core customers because he says the brand already "attracts more responsible drivers" who typically favor safety over extreme performance and horsepower.
Traffic accident data from NHTSA shows that 25 percent of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2017 were caused by speeding. Volvo safety experts say that many people do not recognize the danger of speeding or realize that once the car reaches certain speeds its in-car safety technology will not prevent severe injuries and fatalities in the event of a crash.
“As humans, we all understand the dangers with snakes, spiders and heights. With speeds, not so much,” Volvo senior safety specialist Jan Ivarsson said in a release. “People often drive too fast in a given traffic situation and have poor speed adaption in relation to that traffic situation and their own capabilities as a driver. We need to support better behavior and help people realize and understand that speeding is dangerous.”
It will not be possible to turn off the limited speed, a company spokeswoman said.
Taking things a step further, Volvo is also investigating how a combination of speed control and geofencing technology could automatically limit speeds around schools and hospitals in the future. The aim is to reduce speeding while also addressing the two other safety gaps after speeding – intoxication and driver distraction.
Said Samuelsson: “We need to talk about how far we as carmarkers can go to help save lives." He wants those discussions to determine whether automakers have an obligation to install technology in cars that changes their driver’s behavior. He said Volvo does not have a firm answer to this question.
That number is convenient because if I'm not mistaken S and T rated tires are good to 112 mph. Could save them some costs by equipping vehicles with T rated tires.
Nissan did that on the Maxima from 1995 to 1999. The GXE was limited to 112 because it came with S rated tires. The SE and GLE removed that 112 limiter and had H rated tires (although they cheated SEs did not have a limiter and could do 137 mph drag limited, so that wasn't actually safe technically. Doubt anyone would do that today.)
I would prefer the BMW and Porsche way where on certain cars you can get 171 mph. Doesn't matter if one ever realizes it or not, one is paying for it.
Traffic accident data from NHTSA shows that 25 percent of all traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2017 were caused by speeding. Volvo safety experts say that many people do not recognize the danger of speeding or realize that once the car reaches certain speeds its in-car safety technology will not prevent severe injuries and fatalities in the event of a crash.
Exactly. Too many people are ignoring the obvious.
Their new SUVs look amazing and much better looking than any Lexus offering IMO.
well generally not too often in the LS, the miles per gallon at 113 mph tend to not be so good... but the E55 is SO fast that you can easily get up to those speeds in a matter of seconds at half throttle and still have plenty of room to coast back down to my usual 70-75, if you don't have to touch the brakes or avoid people then i say you didn't go "too fast" (strictly applies to interstate type highways, going 70 through a school zone regardless of whether or not you needed to brake is still too fast lol)
i've always been a big volvo wagon fan, the V90 XC wagon is very nice looking and i certainly wouldn't mind one in T6 trim... i'd certainly take that over the RX / NX
Fine with me and I always support safety first. The fastest I ever drove in the XC90 was 105mph on a few occasions that last less than a minute. Who needs to go above 112mph in a freeway? (except The Autobahn)
My real concern for Volvo car is their long term reliability.
I have never understood why there is no law that mandates speed limiters on cars for North America. Say 75MPH max.
Very simple. A couple of states out West have higher speed limits than that on rural highways....one reason (among several) why the injury and death-rate per mile driven is higher in those states than, say, in my area.
Exactly. Too many people are ignoring the obvious.
I was thinking about this today at the gym. We had a fatality last year.
I was watching a YouTube where this guy was verbally assaulting a NYPD officer because he said she almost hit him. And from the comfort of my room, I was siding with the officer saying this guy is something.
Today, this a****** driving a RX350 with a Stevens Creek Lexus license plate frame accelerates while I am in the crosswalk (with the state law yield marker), forcing me back. Now, suddenly, I was angry like the guy above.
He basically got to a red light at the intersection, so not yielding to a ped is simply either habit, entitlement, being in a motor vehicle, whatever. The guy was over 60 years old and I suppose no other demographic really matters. In an ideal world, just as my car has a dashcam, I have a bodycam ($139.99 is too rich for my blood right now, but $30 and I'll be wearing one).
Think about our preschool situation--cars parked illegally, local residents complaining, school director reminding parents and saying will be towed, multiple hit/runs incl. my wife's SUV. Technology will solve none of the above.
I just think it's pathetic, that even after a fatality, in general, nobody changes. And Stevens Creek is NorCal, dunno wtf that a****** behaves like that, last I knew people yielded there.
I propose they stop selling cars, and in that way by 2050 nobody will get killed in a Volvo anymore.
0 traffic fatalities guaranteed.
and yeah, it will never actually happen.
I was a Volvo fan, and I don't see why I wouldn't be able to fix a whole lot of **** on the 200 series today, even though I haven't had one in 21 years (my 1998 Maxima SE replaced my last 264). For a 1970's car, I would give them that they were above average in safety. shoulder belts in the rear, disc brakes in the rear, bracing in the doors, this was above average for 1975. But today, none of their safety claims imho cuts it, they are no better nor worse than anybody else. I find Subaru today to be the Volvo of the 1980's--nose in the air, above 16 years of education on average, good riddance hahahahahahahahaha
03-08-19, 10:27 AM
Volvo will limit top speed to 112 mph on all models
