Crash tests: Volvo sets new standards 🎥
IT'S ABOUT YOUR SAFETY Volvo Cars has always resorted to unusual means to achieve the greatest possible automotive safety. With the most extreme crash test of all time, the Swedish manufacturer is once again setting new standards. Drops from a crane make it possible to simulate even the most severe damage. For the first time, the safety pioneer has tested several new Volvo models several times from a crane from 30 [...]
Drops from a crane allow the simulation of even the most severe damage.
For the first time, the safety pioneer has had several new Volvo models plunged several times from a crane from a depth of 30 meters. This procedure makes it possible to simulate the most severe damage.
This enables rescue workers to prepare even better for different accident scenarios and improve their life-saving skills.
Quickest possible release from the car
After serious crashes, the occupants of affected vehicles are usually in a critical condition. They must be freed from the car as quickly as possible and taken to hospital.
Injured persons should be freed and given medical care within 60 minutes. Hydraulic rescue equipment, known in specialist circles as "Jaws of Life", is used for this purpose.
All findings from the accidents and the resulting recovery operations are summarized in a research report. This will be made available to rescue workers free of charge so that they can benefit from the findings and develop their skills accordingly.
Tests with unusual measures
As a rule, rescue workers also receive training vehicles from junkyards. But these are often up to two decades old.
But: their stiffness, safety cage design, and overall durability are markedly different from modern vehicles built today with some of the toughest steel.
In order for rescuers to review and adjust their procedures and extrication techniques, testing with newer vehicles is critical. These training sessions make the difference between life and death. For this reason, Volvo Cars has now resorted to unusual measures at the request of the rescue services.
Extreme deformations after each drop
HÃ¥kan Gustafson, lead investigator at Volvo Accident Research, says, "Normally we only crash cars in the lab, but this is the first time we've dropped them from a crane. We knew we would see extreme deformations after these tests."
Before each drop, Volvo Cars engineers calculated how much pressure and force was needed to achieve the desired degree of damage.
