Volvo crash testing bike helmets to improve cyclist safety

Volvo and POC are jointly working on a new safety tech that will help improve the safety of cyclists on roads. The research includes crash testing bike helmets against a stationary vehicle at different speeds and angles.

Volvo has always been at the forefront when it comes to vehicle safety. But in addition to making their cars safer for the occupants, the company has also been working on the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. So, given the fact that Volvo takes road safety quite seriously, it should come as no surprise that their latest safety project goes a step ahead in making roads a safer place for cyclists. You see, Volvo is developing a new tech wherein they are crash testing bicycle helmets against cars so to help protect the cyclists of the world. For this venture, the company has partnered up with POC, which is a Swedish sports and safety firm.

Both the firms are currently working on the aforementioned project at Volvo Cars’ research facility in Gothenburg, Sweden. The tests include POC bicycle helmets on dummy heads being launched towards different areas of a stationary car’s hood, at different speeds and angles. These tests are of course based on the existing regulatory test procedures, but according to Volvo, the current bike helmet testing procedures are fairly ‘rudimentary’ as they just involve helmets being dropped from different heights and they also don’t take into account car-to-cycle accidents. The aim of Volvo-POC project, as a result, is to refine and advance the testing procedure.

The learnings from the joint research will result in POC making safer helmets, while these will also help Volvo to incorporate required modifications into their vehicles for future safety developments. At the moment, though, Volvo already has a cyclist detection system with full auto brake. This was introduced in 2013 and now comes as standard in all Volvo cars as part of the City Safety Package.