Volvo City Safety Technology approved by the NHTS and IIHS

For nearly a century, Volvo has been producing automobiles, and almost for the entire existence of the manufacturer Volvo cars have been known for being the safest on the market. This tradition of excellence continues into modern day with the introduction of the Volvo City Safety technology: the newest in groundbreaking technologies helping to preserve not just your car, but also the health of you and your family.
The core of City Safety is a laser, attached to the back of the rear view mirror and invisible to the naked eye, that scans the area one car length in front of the Volvo automobile. If the sensor notices that the car in front of the driver is stopped or slowing, it has the power to apply the brakes on its own in an attempt to avoid an accident. With a speed difference between the two automobiles of 9 miles per hour or less, City Safety will avoid an accident outright. At speeds of up to 19 miles per hour, it is unable to avoid an accident, but the perfect response time of the system will result in far less damage than sustained with the system keeping watch.

There are some limitations on the system: at speeds of 20 MPH or above, City Safety will not automatically apply the brakes, due to the dangers of braking without driver expectation at that speed as well as the risk of false positives when scanning at an increased distance. It will also not notice a pedestrian or other small object in front of the car, limiting only to what it is sure is an automobile.

Nevertheless, the data about City Safety’s effect on the accident rates is in, and it is extremely positive. The Highway Loss Data Institute, the information-gathering arm of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found that automobiles equipped with Volvo City Safety suffer 27% fewer property damage claims than those without, compared with comparable midsize SUVs from other manufacturers as well as Volvo cars without the feature. Even more impressively, bodily injury liability claims were reduced by a staggering 51% thanks to accidents greatly reduced in severity by the earlier automatic braking.

City Safety was introduced in 2010, appearing on Volvo XC60 midsize SUVs with S60 sedans joining in 2011 and XC70 wagons and S80 sedans being equipped for 2012. For the kinds of low-speed impacts that City Safety prevents, human reaction time is one of the greatest challenges; the automatic braking is activated with the instant reaction time of a computer, the driver is not aware it is happening until the accident has already been avoided. The braking power is strong at 50% of maximum in which the driver will receive a jerk forward, but it will never be so violent as to cause him/her to impact the steering wheel or dashboard under normal circumstances. A light on the dashboard will alert the driver after City Safety activates.

Since the laser used is infrared, it is invisible to both the driver and all oncoming motorists – no one will be distracted by a red light flashing in their eyes as you approach. It works equally well in both day and night conditions. Since it only has to read eighteen feet in front of the car, most inclement weather will not affect it, but very heavy rain or snow may impede its performance. It is specially configured to avoid activating when attempting to park or weaving through parked cars, and can be temporarily overridden by pressing on the accelerator – but there is no way to deactivate it for good, as it will turn on again the next time the car is started.

The effects on insurance claims are clear: drivers of Volvos with City Safety file fewer claims and recover less insurance money than those without the feature. Interestingly, even though the total amount claimed for insurance is lower, the amount of the average claim is about 10% higher than other vehicles, which means the system is working. City Safety avoids the small claims for fender benders by avoiding those accidents entirely the claims that do get filed tend to be for more serious damage.

For now, the effect on insurance rates is negligible as the IIHS examines the data, but there is reason to believe you may end up saving on insurance payments in the long run. The National Highway Traffic Safety Institute recently released their own report stating that the system reduces low-speed collision severity and eliminates many collisions entirely, strengthening the argument for reduced insurance payments in the near future.

Regardless of the immediate savings on insurance payments, the time and headaches saved from avoiding fender benders and the additional safety afforded to you and your family make the City Safety technology an invaluable asset in your new Volvo.

Tags: Volvo Dallas, Volvo Safety

Park Place Volvo Show & Shine benefiting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation November 10th, 2012

Park Place Volvo Show & Shine benefiting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.  Saturday, November 10, 2012 

 Park Place Volvo, Dallas Volvo Club and Volvo Club of America are hosting a car show 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, November 4, featuring an amazing line up of classic to current Volvo vehicles. The event is free and open to the public.

Participants can register their Volvo at http://parkplacevolvoshowandshine.eventbrite.com, and attendees can RSVP and share the event with their friends on the Park Place Dealerships Facebook event! Registration is free but limited to the first 50 vehicles.  Arrive by 9 a.m. for registration and palcement. For more information about registering a vehicle or other event details, please contact Kara at kconnor@parkplace.com or 214-224-1971.

Awards will include the Road Warrior for the Volvo with the highest mileage; Best in Show and the People’s Choice. The public can vote on the People’s Choice award by donating $1 per ticket to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. In addition to the proceeds from the Show & Shine event, Park Place Volvo will make a donation for every Volvo sold from now through the end of the year. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation caught the attention of Volvo when Alex received an inaugural Volvo for Life award nomination in 2003. The award program honors hometown heroes doing extraordinary things in their communities.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004). In 2000, 4-year-old Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of supporters across the country carrying on her legacy of hope. More info at http://www.alexslemonade.org.

Cole Luxury Homes offers custom luxury homes throughout North Texas. Cole Luxury Homes was started in the late 1950′s by JC Cole. This is a third generation family run business which is now managed by grandson Chuck Cole and Carey Caldwell, who bring innovation to the longstanding tradition of Custom Home Building. More information at http://www.coleluxuryhomes.com.

Park Place Volvo is located at 3515 Inwood Road & Lemmon Avenue, Dallas 75209, near Love Field. Celebrating 25 years as “Experts in Excellence,” Park Place Dealerships was founded in 1987 by Ken Schnitzer. Today Park Place Dealerships operates 17 full-service dealerships representing Bentley, Jaguar, Infiniti, Lexus, Lotus, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, smart, Volvo and Rolls-Royce. In addition, the dealership group includes two Park Place Bodyworks locations. For more information about Park Place Dealerships, visit http://www.parkplace.com

Tags: Alex's Lemonade Stand, Volvo Dallas, Volvo Show and Shine