Volvo Australia is offering more standard equipment on its range of 2009 models in order to boost sales and homogenise the range, including new safety systems to help Volvo maintain its safety conscious image. 

Australians are more likely than not to be in a crash at some point in their lifetime, with current figures from AAMI's road safety index revealing that 81% of us will be involved in a crash at some point in our lives. The most likely cause of crashes isn’t among the frequently-conceived chief risks such as speeding, drink driving or fatigue, but rather a lack of attention on the actual process of driving.

Falling asleep at the wheel claims numerous lives each year, especially in rural and night-time driving. To counteract this deadly problem, Mercedes-Benz has developed the Attention Assist system and plans to roll-out the safety device in its production cars from early next year.

Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and other large passenger vehicles have long been considered two-edged swords in respect to safety, since their bulky proportions and high stances offer good protection in an accident with another vehicle, but those same attributes make the vehicles prone to rollovers that often result in serious injury or death to the occupants. Small cars likewise have a similar reputation, being fitted with many safety features and nimble enough to avoid many accidents, but offering little in the way of cold steel protection. Now another angle on the dichotomy has been illuminated by Germany’s crash test agency, which recently pitted an Audi Q7 SUV against a Fiat 500 minicar.

Whether behind the wheel or astride a push bike, men are more likely to be seriously injured on the road than their female counterparts. Figures released today by the Institute of Health and Welfare (IHW) take a survey of data collected between 2005 and 2006 and analyse the results, comparing injury rates for gender, age, road user type and other factors.

As the proportion of older drivers in the world’s leading nations grows, carmakers are finding new avenues for the technological advancement of safe driving. Taking a new angle on the head-up display (HUD) concept, General Motors is working on a prototype windshield system that enhances the driver’s view of the world instead of obstructing it with overlaid information.

Ford is currently testing an advanced hazard warning system near its main U.S. R&D centre in Detroit dubbed the ‘smart intersection.’ The system relies on GPS and wireless communication technologies to enable traffic lights and street signs to send warnings to approaching vehicles, something Ford hopes could eventually reduce traffic accidents and ease congestion.