Safety and smarts collide in crash lab

High-speed cameras capture miniscule details of collisions to improve vehicle safety in real-life traffic conditions. Photo / Supplied

Volvo is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its crash-test laboratory, where more than 3000 cars have been deliberately crashed since the research centre opened in 2000.

"The risk of being involved in an accident or being injured in one of our latest car models has more than halved compared with a Volvo from the 1970s," says Thomas Broberg, senior safety adviser at Volvo Cars.

"We are continuously taking new steps towards our vision that nobody should die or suffer serious injuries in a new Volvo car by the year 2020. The crash-test laboratory is a central part of this development.

"We can replicate most of the accident scenarios that take place out on the roads. By analysing the results and then testing new safety technology, we can improve the safety level in our cars so that they become even safer in real-life traffic conditions."

Volvo says the safety centre has remained one of the most advanced in the car industry, thanks to the constant adoption of new equipment such as digital high-speed cameras that can take 200,000 frames per second.

"The new cameras give us exceptional scope for studying the tiniest detail of a collision," said Broberg.

"We also have a number of miniature cameras that are installed inside the cars to capture what happens with various key components in the vehicle."

The crash-test centre has one fixed and one movable test track, used for car-to-car crashes. The two tracks meet above a 6m-deep, Plexiglas-covered pit used for filming collision tests from underneath.

"The degree of precision in a test in which two moving cars collide at 50km/h is 2.5cm," said Broberg.

"This corresponds to two thousandths of a second. By way of comparison, a blink of the human eye takes about 60 thousandths of a second. This says a whole lot about the laboratory's precision."

At the end of the fixed track is a concrete slab. It weighs 850 tonnes and is moved around with the help of air cushions.

In addition, there are about 20 other fixed and movable barriers. Other measuring instruments include 100 crash-test dummies: men, women and children of different sizes and ages.

"In order to offer cars with a world-class safety level, we must ensure that our safety systems are suitable for different occupant sizes at a wide range of speeds and in various traffic situations," said Broberg.

"By analysing these and then testing new safety technology in the crash-test laboratory, we can improve the safety level in our cars so that they become even safer in real-life traffic conditions."