Volvo Connected Safety allows cars and trucks to warnings about the road ahead

Volvo Trucks has introduced Connected Safety, a cloud-based service that allows Volvo trucks and Volvo cars to automatically alert each other to hazardous traffic situations.

The service was launched by Volvo Cars in 2016, but now Volvo Trucks is rolling out its version of the service in Norway and Sweden, allowing trucks and cars to share information about potential hazards.

“Expanded co-operation between different players is one of the most important keys to improved road safety. If more vehicles are able to exchange real-time information about the traffic situation, it will lower the risk of accidents. With Connected Safety we are opening the door to the future, with the hope that more vehicle manufacturers will join in,” said Carl Johan Almqvist, traffic and product safety director at Volvo Trucks.

Connected Safety was developed to send out alerts to nearby vehicles connected to the service whenever a driver activates the vehicle’s hazard warning lights.

“A vehicle standing still by the roadside in poor visibility risks being hit from the rear, which can have severe consequences. An alert issued well in advance gives all drivers of nearby cars and trucks the same opportunity to reduce speed, adjust their driving to the traffic situation and avoid a collision,” explained Almqvist. 

In the longer term, the cloud-based service can be expanded with additional safety-enhancing functions.