In the interest of safer roads for all, Volvo Cars has joined forces with other car makers, service providers and national governments in a ground-breaking, pan-European pilot project to share traffic safety data generated by cars and infrastructure.

Volvo Cars’ safety technologies already communicate between its own vehicles

Progressing the idea of connected cars, project partners will share anonymised safety data via a cloud-based platform, with Volvo Cars sharing its real-time data gained from its connected safety technologies; Hazard Light Alert and Slippery Road Alert.

The data can be used in a number of ways, including participating manufacturers using it to warn drivers of potential dangers on the road ahead, while service providers can use the data to provide live traffic updates, for example.

The pilot project will be run under the umbrella of a public-private partnership called the European Data Task Force, founded in 2017 with the purpose of making driving safer for all road users by prioritising societal over monetary gain.

The pilot project comes after Volvo Cars campaigned for years to share safety data amongst the industry, including in 2017 when its president and CEO Håkan Samuelsson told a conference at the European Commission in Brussels that, “We think this type of anonymised data sharing should be done for free, for the greater good and to the wider benefit of society. It saves lives, time and taxpayer money,” Mr Samuelsson said at the time. “I call on other car makers and governments to work with us on realising this type of data sharing as widely as possible.”

The project is an extension of Volvo Cars’ own connected car safety technology that already communicates between other Volvos to warn nearby drivers of slippery road conditions and hazards via a cloud-based network. Both features were first introduced in 2016 and are available on all new Volvo models across Europe.

“The more vehicles we have sharing safety data in real time, the safer our roads become,” said Malin Ekholm, head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “That is why the European Data Task Force is such an important initiative. We hope to bring on board even more partners who share our commitment to safety.”