Automatic braking to feature as standard
Date: 15/05/2008 12:00:00
Volvo is taking car safety up a gear by offering a model with a fully automatic braking system as standard for the first time.
The car maker is releasing the new XC60 with laser sensor technology which measures the distance to the car in front and applies the brakes if the driver's response is too slow.
Volvo is so confident the gadget will reduce crashes at slow speeds and it is negotiating with cover providers to reduce the car
car insurance costs of people driving the new model.
Volvo said: "At speeds of under 19mph, City Safety uses laser sensor technology to detect vehicles up to ten metres in front of the car's front bumper."
The firm also said research had shown three quarters of crashes happen at under 18mph and half of all drivers failed to break at all in such incidents.
City Safety is therefore geared to reduce urban bumper-to-bumper crunches which happen when driver concentration slips in slow-moving traffic.
The Swedish car maker first introduced assisted braking in the S80 and first started working on a fully automatic system in 2006.