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Volvo has announced that it will jump ahead of current EU legislation and start fitting all of its cars built from 2020 with electronic speed limiters, which will hold drivers to a maximum possible 180km/h.
The move, says Volvo, is a major step on its 'Vision 2020' plan which aims to ensure that no-one driving a Volvo, or a passenger in one, will be killed or seriously injured from that year.
Volvo says that its research has identified three remaining gaps in current safety strategies, and that excessive speed is a major such gap. "Volvo is a leader in safety: we always have been and we always will be," said Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive. "Because of our research we know where the problem areas are when it comes to ending serious injuries and fatalities in our cars. And while a speed limitation is not a cure-all, it's worth doing if we can even save one life. We want to start a conversation about whether car makers have the right or maybe even an obligation to install technology in cars that changes their drivers' behaviour, to tackle things like speeding, intoxication or distraction," said Mr. Samuelsson. "We don't have a firm answer to this question, but believe we should take leadership in the discussion and be a pioneer."
Apart from limiting top speeds, the company is also investigating how a combination of smart speed control and geofencing technology could automatically limit speeds around schools and hospitals in future.
According to Volvo, the big problem with excessive speed is that it overwhelms the ability of the car's electronic and structural safety systems to cope. The company quotes data from the US National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration which shows that 25 per cent of all traffic fatalities in 2017 were caused by speeding.
People simply do not recognise the danger involved in speed, says Jan Ivarsson, one of Volvo Cars' leading safety experts. "As humans, we all understand the dangers with snakes, spiders and heights. With speeds, not so much," said Mr Ivarsson. "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 behaviour and help people realise and understand that speeding is dangerous."
The other two gaps in Volvo's safety efforts? Well, perhaps not surprisingly, they're the two other areas specifically controlled by humans - intoxication and distraction. Volvo plans a big safety seminar event later in March to highlight its efforts to tackle these gaps, too.