Is The Volvo Safety Record Living Up To The Hype?

Volvo has had a longstanding reputation as a leader in automotive safety. But some say that Volvo is being overshadowed by the competition. Does the Volvo safety record still live up to its reputation?

Have no doubt, Volvo's reputation is well deserved. Volvo has long been a driving force behind new automotive safety technologies, developing and refining many of the features we take for granted today. Three-point seat belts, crumple zones, laminated windshields, and safety cages were created by Volvo and can now be found in every car on the market.

Volvo's innovations come from its advanced testing labs and, in some cases, as a result of personal experiences. After a close friend of then-president Gunnar Engellau died in an auto accident, he ordered his engineers to create a device that could have saved his life. The result was the three-point seat belt. Beyond that, Volvo's $81 million testing center in Gothenburg, Sweden is arguably the most advanced crash test center in the world, and has over the years compiled detailed information on over 40,000 accidents.

With all this dedication to safety, then why doesn't it dominate standard safety scores? Only one model showed up in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's 2007 top safety picks: The Volvo XC90. Last year, Volvo wasn't even represented. To make the list, a car must have "Good" scores on frontal, side, and rear collision tests. While all other Volvo models scored "Good" on both frontal and rear crash tests, only the XC90 made the grade on side impact collisions. The rest of Volvo's lineup only scored an "Acceptable," or average rating. Their scores are certainly above average, but are somewhat disappointing for a company that centers its philosophy around safety.

Russ Rader, a spokesman for the IIHS said last year that Volvo is lagging behind its competitors when it comes to safety, a claim that Volvo strongly objects to. Volvo insists that it tailors its vehicles to pass their own standards, and not anyone else's, and that they design their cars around real world scenarios.

Of course, it could be said that Volvo's disappointing scores are a sign that the automotive industry as a whole is getting better at the safety game. In any case, Volvo is still leading the pack when it comes to safety innovations. In the past couple of years, Volvo has introduced a whiplash protection system and sensors that warn the driver of other cars in his or her blind spot. Volvo is currently working on an ignition that requires a breathalyser test and fastened seatbelts before starting, and developing a four-point seat belt.

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