Volvo has launched a program called Vision 2020, which states, ‘By 2020, nobody shall be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo.’ It includes not just new protective measures in the car, but technology for communicating dangers to and from the car. Other car companies have similar, less formalized programs. As ambitious as it seems, Ed Kim, an analyst at automotive research firm AutoPacific, says the zero-fatality goal is achievable. In the next 10 years, there will be a confluence of safety technologies — such as road-sign recognition, pedestrian detection and autonomous car controls — that lead to safer cars, says Kim.
33, 963 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2009. 1n 1980, there were 3.3 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. In 2007, that number had decreased to 1.4 (source). The automobile industry has made huge advances in safety and it’s nice to see that Volvo is chasing zero fatalities. That’s remarkable. We can all thank this man for taking an entire industry from one that only cared about the dollar to now marketing themselves based on their safety– he’s saved hundreds of thousands of lives over the years.
We should be demanding as consumers that the 100,000 lives lost in the US due to medical mistakes is the next major safety frontier. Ralph, we need your help…