Any time a Volvo truck is involved in an accident, its an opportunity to learn how well safety systems and design approaches are helping the company move closer to its Zero Accidents goal.
There were 716 fewer people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes on U.S. roadways during 2022, a 1.7% decrease from 43,230 in 2021 to 42,514 in 2022, according to the latest figures reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). While any measurable decrease is good, anything more than zero is an "unacceptable number," Volvo Traffic and Product Safety Director Anna Wrige Berling, adding the goal of zero accidents drives all system development for the company's trucks.
"It's first about zero fatalities," she said, "then its zero injuries, [and] in the end we hope to have zero accidents."
Volvo has deployed numerous tactics in its quest to stamp out vehicle crashes, including awareness programs and driver training, but "most of the work," she said, is the work done to the trucks themselves.
Established in 1969, an accident research team visits crash sites involving Volvo trucks and has analyzed accident statistics and investigated more than 1,700 truck crashes. The team consists of an operational group, a traffic safety statistics group and a group that develops new methods to evaluate future and current safety measures. The group also conducts internal research projects, establishes external partner collaborations and analyzes external statistics and reports. The collective findings gives Volvo Trucks new perspectives on the cause and effect of traffic accidents.
What the team does not do, however, is assign blame. The Volvo team is there for data collection.
"We don't focus so much on who was at fault," she said, adding their focus is on how the truck behaved in the accident and any injuries involved.
