Volvo Safety Technology & Driver Assistance Features Explained

From side-impact air bags and curtains, to structural improvements, and even the three-point seatbelts that are ubiquitous in any vehicle today, Volvo has been innovating safety for a century. In the modern era, of course, the term has evolved to include advanced driver assistance features. However, even as technology has changed, Volvo remains true to the words of founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson, who declared safety “the guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo.”

Let’s take a closer look at how Volvo remains the safest manufacturer on the road.

What Are Active Safety and Passive Safety?

First, a couple of definitions are in order. Safety features, broadly speaking, fall into one of two categories: active safety and passive safety.

Passive Safety: As the name suggests, these features aren’t necessarily functional most of the time, but are nevertheless vital when involved in the crash. These primarily include what could be considered “traditional” defenses, like safety belts, airbags, and crumple zones, that are universally standard on modern vehicles.

Active Safety: Most driver assistance features are included under this category, because they’re always working to optimize safety through constant monitoring and, if necessary, pre-emptive adjustment. Other less visible features like traction control and anti-lock brakes also fit here.

What Driver Assistance Features Does Volvo Offer?

Volvo ambitiously endeavors for a world where nobody is seriously injured or killed in a new car. Here are some of the tools aimed at reaching that goal.

Pilot Assist

The revolutionary suite of Volvo semi-autonomous features, Pilot Assist is a next-level driving experience that provides greater confidence and control while driving. It is able to help you stay in your lane while maintaining a constant speed — then adjust that speed as required by traffic conditions.

Pilot Park Assist

Using the same technology as Pilot Assist, Pilot Park Assist allows you to avoid the terror of parallel parking. It allows your Volvo to scan for available spaces, then take over the steering, acceleration, and braking to effortlessly glide into place.

360-Degree Camera

Whether your Volvo includes Park Assist or not, parking safety is further enhanced by a 360-degree camera that gives you an overhead view of your vehicle, allowing you to note the surroundings. Combined with standard parking sensors, it helps remove the stress of fitting into tight spaces.

Collision Avoidance and Mitigation

The functioning of Volvo Collision Avoidance is remarkably straightforward. When a danger is detected, the vehicle will give off audible, visual, and brake pulse warnings to alert the driver. If there is no response to those signals, the Volvo can automatically apply the brakes and control the steering to avoid or mitigate a collision.

Lane-Keeping Aid

If you drift over a detected lane marking without signaling, your Volvo can alert you through subtle steering wheel vibrations. If no corrective action is taken after that warning, it will then take over steering and guide you back to safety.

Run-Off Road Mitigation

Run-Off Road Mitigation works similarly to Lane-Keeping Aid, except for cases where your Volvo is in danger of leaving the roadway while traveling between 40 and 87 MPH. It takes over steering and braking, as necessary, to correct the situation.

Cross-Traffic Alert

Another useful tool, particularly in low-visibility parking situations, Cross-Traffic Alert uses sensors to detect approaching vehicles and provide warnings. If needed, it can also apply the brakes to avoid a collision.

Blind Spot Information System (BLIS)

A staple of any new vehicle safety system, the Blind Spot Information System alerts you through a light on your mirror if a vehicle enters your blind spot or approaches quickly. On a Volvo, the BLIS can even steer you to safety, if needed.

What is Volvo City Safety?

When Volvo first introduced the XC60 model in 2008, it also launched something just as important: City Safety, a revolutionary step forward in accident prevention. Originally using a laser mounted near the rear view mirror, the first City Safety systems monitored the area in front of the vehicle and were able to prevent or mitigate low-speed incidents.

Over the ensuing years, Volvo kept improving City Safety, including its sensor technology and speed capacity. Though the feature is now more broadly referred to as Collision Avoidance and Mitigation, the City Safety label is still frequently used as an homage to its pioneering heritage.

What Is the Difference Between Volvo Pilot Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control?

Pilot Assist is the broad name of the Volvo semi-autonomous features. It includes Adaptive Cruise Control — which can be considered a sub-feature of Pilot Assist — as well as Lane Assist, which helps keep you centered in your lane, and Stop-and-Go Assist, a form of Adaptive Cruise Control used in dense traffic. While it is important that you keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road while using Pilot Assist, it offers a relaxed driving experience. Simply set the speed of your choice, and your Volvo will maintain it, with necessary adjustments and braking applied as conditions dictate.

Which Safety Features are Available on Which Volvo Models?

The Volvo commitment to safety means that while a couple of advanced assistance features are reserved for specific models or high trim levels, the essentials are standard. That, of course, includes most of the passive safety features, but also nearly all of the active ones as well.

Primarily, availability is dictated not by model, but by trim level. Each Volvo model comes in one of three trim levels, with most technologies included with all three. However, Pilot Assist is usually standard only in the Ultra trim (though it can occasionally be found in the others, depending on the model, with the XC90 standing as a prominent example of Pilot Assist’s inclusion as standard on every trim). Here’s the breakdown.