Video: Volvo and POC develop word-first cycle helmet crash test

Volvo Cars is teaming up with POC, a Swedish sports and safety brand, to develop the world’s first cycle helmet crash test.

Volvo’s New Zealand general manager Coby Duggan says the research is significant as it focuses on head injuries potentially caused by an impact to various parts of a vehicle.

“Cyclists are one of the most vulnerable road user groups and yet the traditional methodology for measuring how well a helmet stands up to an impact is to simply drop it from various heights on to a flat surface,” says Duggan.

He says more than 770 cyclists were injured in New Zealand last year, five fatally, according to the latest Ministry of Transport statistics.

“The new study will explore how head protection responds under a variety of collision scenarios as it impacts with different parts of a moving vehicle.”

The Volvo-POC research projects aims to refine and advance bike helmet testing, taking into account vehicle to bike accidents. POC will make its helmets safer and more protective in the event of a car-bike accident, while the tests will provide insights and learnings for Volvo in these types of accidents for future development.

“We often develop new testing methods for challenging traffic scenarios,” says head of the Volvo safety centre Malin Ekholm.

“Our aim is not only to meet legal requirements or pass rating tests. Instead we go beyond ratings, using real traffic situations to develop technology that further improves safety.”

Volvo is developing its automotive emergency braking and pedestrian detection systems, including cyclist detection with full auto brake, using the car’s cameras and radars to detect cyclists, warning the driver of a collision and applying the brakes if further action is needed.

The Volvo-POC research project will be held in Volvo safety research facilities in Gothenburg, Sweden.