A3

By Pacenews staff

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Speak Up

Volvo, a leader in automotive safety, will be shipping their anticipated XC60 SUV's to customers with an innovative "City Safety" technology when the model goes on sale this winter.

Standard on the new XC60, "City Safety" is a technology that employs a low-speed autonomous braking system to protect distracted drivers and those around them. Using a special laser sensor, the technology is intended to reduce the low-speed collisions common in urban situations or when the driver is distracted and doesn't react to an imminent impact. City Safety will most commonly work in low-speed situations like stop and go traffic and parking lots.

A simple statistic necessitated the creation of the system, according to Volvo officials. Basically, 75 percent of accidents take place under 30 km/h, and in half of these, the driver doesn't' brake beforehand- mainly because of distraction. Now, distracted drivers have a second chance- as City Safety can pre-charge the brakes for instant stopping power the moment the pedal is touched. Should a distracted driver fail to see the danger and not touch the brakes, they are automatically applied by the car on his behalf- providing the vehicle's speed is under 30 km/h.

With automatic brake application, City Safety may actually prevent an accident without driver intervention at speeds below 16 km/h. Between 16 and 30 km/h, Volvo says that the intent of the system is to reduce speed as much as possible prior to impact, in order to reduce injury, impacts and damage.

City Safety joins a lengthy list of other protective innovations available throughout Volvo's lineup, including the Personal Car Communicator, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) and Driver Alert Control (DAC).

Of the upcoming model, Volvo's Design Director, Steve Mattin, says "this car is charged with more emotive form and more energy than any other Volvo. We're elevating our design DNA to an entirely new level by literally turning up the visual volume. If you say that you'd recognize a Volvo from 300 feet away today, I dare say the XC60 radiates a clear Volvo presence from at least twice that distance."

The new model will compete heavily with the likes of the BMW X3, Acura RDX and Infiniti EX.