Trucks
Trucks
Driving a truck has never been safer – thanks to decades of research and progress, a continuous production line of innovations and safety features, and increasingly strict regulations and safety standards.
“Looking at the history of road safety, it is a real point of pride to see Volvo feature so prominently at every stage,” says Anna Wrige Berling, Traffic & Product Safety Director, Volvo Trucks. “From inventing the three-point safety belt, right up to today’s advanced safety systems, we have been able to contribute to making our roads safer for all road users.”
Here is a short history of truck safety, and the key milestones that are bringing us closer to zero accidents.
Nils Bohlin, inventor of the three-point safety belt, which is still the industry standard today.
As road freight increases, highway networks expand across post-war Europe and America. Heavy-duty trucks start driving longer distances and at higher speeds, which in turn makes truck safety a higher priority. Governments and road authorities start implementing new road rules specifically for trucks, and mandating standardized requirements for vehicles. Most notably, air brakes become standard on trucks, which improves overall braking performance.
In 1948, Volvo becomes the first truck manufacturer to introduce steel cabs (as opposed to wood), which also become standard during the following decade. In 1959, Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin develops the three-point safety belt, which quickly becomes an industry standard – and remains so to this day.
Volvo Trucks’ impact test set industry standards in the EU right up until 2009.
Safety standards and regulatory requirements continue to become stricter, and truck manufacturers implement tougher testing standards in their product development. Volvo’s impact test, which involves striking the cab with heavy weights and a swing pendulum, sets an early benchmark for cab safety tests. It is soon adopted by the Swedish government as a national requirement and later adopted by other countries too. As a result, survival rates for truck occupants increase, while the impact test remains an industry standard across the EU right up until 2009.
In 1969, Volvo establishes its Accident Research Team, which is tasked with investigating traffic accidents onsite and gathering traffic safety data, which is then implemented into its product development. The team is still active today and is a core part of Volvo Trucks’ research and development.
Throughout the 1970s, Volvo Trucks significantly improved the safety of its cabs, while new regulations ensured better working conditions for drivers.
Driver safety continues to improve, both through safer vehicles and new regulations concerning working conditions. Many European countries introduce strict limits on working hours and enforce this through compulsory tachographs.
Volvo Trucks further improves cab safety by introducing a new barrier test that simulates a collision with a trailer, and then introduces safety features including reinforced cab pillars, collapsible steering columns, an energy absorbing steering wheel and padded interiors.
The advent of anti-locking braking systems (ABS) in the 1980s helps reduce jack-knifing and becomes standard in all trucks by the end of the decade.
More focus is given to protecting other road users in collisions. Side underrun protection, which helps prevent cyclists and pedestrians from falling under a truck’s rear wheels, become mandatory in many countries. Rear underrun protection, which helps protect passenger car occupants in rear end collisions with trucks, is also introduced.
During the 1980s, safety systems become increasingly sophisticated and advanced, starting with anti-locking braking systems (ABS) which become standard in all trucks by the end of the decade. The new technology reduces jack-knifing and improves braking performance on slippery roads.
Since its founding in 1969, Volvo Trucks’ Accident Research Team continues to investigate traffic accidents onsite, to find ways of preventing future accidents.
Organizations such as the EU and the UN become more active in road safety, implementing new requirements and safety standards. For example, the EU makes speed limiters and ABS brakes mandatory in all new trucks, as well as introducing standardized testing and training for truck drivers’ licenses.
Having already fulfilled many of these new requirements, Volvo Trucks continues to seek ways of improving the safety of its vehicles and becomes one of the first truck manufacturers to introduce driver airbags. It also introduces front underrun protection in 1996, which helps protect car passengers in car-truck collisions. This later becomes mandatory in 2003.
Electronic stability control (ESC) is estimated to have reduced fatalities in rollover crashes by between 70-90%.
Advanced electronic safety systems begin to take off, starting with electronic stability control (ESC), which helps prevent skidding and rollovers. This has a significant effect on reducing the number of rollover crashes, with some studies claiming that ESCs have reduced fatal rollover crashes by between 70-90%.
The first adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems, which automatically adjust the cruising speed to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front, are introduced.
For Volvo Trucks, the use of radars and sensor technology enables other active safety systems including Lane Keeping Support, Lane Change Support, Driver Alert Support and Collision Warning with Emergency Brake. By 2009, the EU’s first General Safety Regulation (GSR) makes a number of active safety systems mandatory.
In recent years, improving visibility of the truck’s surroundings has been a priority for truck manufacturers.
Active safety systems continue to develop and benefit from intelligent capabilities, while regulators make more and more systems mandatory. The EU, for example, makes electronic stability control, lane departure warning and autonomous emergency braking standard in all new trucks.
Volvo Trucks continues to develop driver support systems, such as Volvo Dynamic Steering, which improves directional stability and reduces drift, while also relieving the daily strain on the driver’s back and shoulders.
New active safety systems and blind spot detection systems are improving safety for truck drivers and other road users.
The technology in trucks continues to become increasingly advanced, featuring more sensors, cameras and processing power. This enables even more opportunities for improved road safety. Blind spot detection systems are developed, such as Active Side Collision Avoidance Support and passenger corner cameras. Traditional side mirrors are increasingly replaced with camera monitor systems, which improve overall visibility, particularly at night.
Meanwhile, EU’s General Safety Regulation II makes more active safety systems mandatory, including Intelligent Speed Assist, driver distraction monitoring and vulnerable road user detection. Tougher requirements are also introduced regarding visibility, most notably London’s Direct Vision Standards.
In 2024, Euro NCAP, which has long set safety standards for passenger cars, begins assessing heavy-duty trucks for safety. In its first test results, the Volvo FH and the Volvo FM both receive the top rating of five stars.
Trucks will continue to become more sophisticated, utilizing advances in connectivity and automation, to become even safer.
While huge strides have been made in road safety, the industry continues to work together to make roads and highways even safer still. Manufacturers will continue to develop safer vehicles and safety features, governments and authorities will continue to implement stricter regulations and standards, and transport companies will keep looking for ways to protect the safety of their drivers.
“Until we fulfill our vision for zero accidents, there will always be scope for improvements,” says Anna. “One area, which I think we’ve only just started to explore, is within connectivity and data. As trucks become more sophisticated, we will be able to get data from other vehicles and from public infrastructure and be able to use that data in our systems. Maybe then we can better anticipate upcoming road conditions and stoppages and enable drivers to react quicker. And at the same time, we’ll continue working with the simpler measures, like driver training and public awareness campaigns.”
You can read more about Volvo Trucks’ legacy in road safety, as well as our vision towards zero accidents.
