Volvo Trucks has introduced a new safety function - Distance Alert - which makes it easier for truck drivers to keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead and avoid critical situations.

Accidents where one vehicle runs into the back of another currently make up around 20% of all serious collisions involving trucks.

Distance Alert is part of the most recent version of Volvo Trucks' driving support system, Collision Warning with Emergency Brake, which is designed to help drivers prevent accidents in several stages. If Distance Alert does not have the intended effect, a flashing light and an audible alarm are used to warn the driver. Finally, the advanced emergency brake is activated. All of this happens within just a few seconds.

The new function is intended for use on major roads outside cities and is switched on at speeds over 60 km/h, unless the adaptive cruise control system is in use. In the same way as the collision warning system's other functions, Distance Alert uses a combination of camera and radar technology to calculate the distance and identify objects on the road.

Carl Johan Almqvist, Traffic and Product Safety Director at Volvo Trucks said, “By continuously improving the active safety systems in our trucks, we are giving drivers better ways of reducing the risks that they and other road users are exposed to. Distance Alert is one of many examples of how technology can help to make good drivers even better.”

Photo: Volvo Distance Alert helps drivers keep a safe distance