Volvo Cars is planning to fit its next generation of vehicles with cameras and sensors that will detect drunk or distracted drivers and intervene automatically to stop dangerous rides. From the early 2020s, Volvos will have the ability to notice if a driver is clearly intoxicated or erratic and allow the car to intervene if the person behind the wheel doesn’t heed warning signals. The car or sports utility vehicle could then limit the speed, alert an assistance service or, “as a final course of action,” slow down and park by itself, Volvo said in a statement earlier this week.

The initiative follows an earlier announcement from Volvo that the company will introduce a 180 kilometres-per-hour speed limit on all models from 2020. Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson hopes that the measures will save lives and make car insurance less pricey for Volvo buyers. The company is also hoping that insurance companies will be able to offer more favourable insurance policies to Volvo owners who use its safety features.

“Shouldn’t insuring the club-180 be more favourable than insuring the ‘free speed for free citizens’ community?” Samuelsson said, alluding to a popular phrase in German arguing against speed limits. Insurers, he added, are “tough guys and they will want to see proof, but I’m quite sure there will be fewer accidents.”

The behaviours that Volvo hopes that its cameras will be able to detect include lack of steering input for extended periods, drivers with their eyes closed, as well as “extreme weaving across lanes” or “excessively slow reaction times,” Volvo said. Volvo also plans to introduce a feature, the Care Key, to enable temporary speed limits for customers lending their car to a younger relative, for example. “Many owners want to be able to share their car with friends and family, but are unsure about how to make sure they are safe on the road,” Samuelsson said in the statement. “The Care Key provides one good solution and extra peace of mind.”

Bloomberg

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