When technology goes wrong – Volvo test car crashes

Technology is making an impact everywhere (no pun intended) with the latest advanced electronics taking over many of the vehicles we drive today. Volvo have been at the forefront of this technology and have always been a proud purveyor of producing the safest possible cars on the market.

That all went wrong recently however when they were showcasing the latest advancements in Sweden this week and asked a group of journalists to record the outing for posterity. Sadly, the event was recorded, for all the wrong reasons. Our guy Stefan was on hand for a report.

Volvo was demonstrating how the S60 luxury car would avoid a slowing/stopped vehicle in the direct ‘line of sight' of the system. This system failed to work and the Collision Warning System allowed the car to plough straight into the back of a truck, without even slowing from the recorded 30mph speed. While there were many embarrassed faces from the Volvo employees, apparently the issue was not with the technology but due to a human engineering problem during the pre-preparation.

In an unusual series of events however the S60 compartment was left totally unmarked and even the windshield didnt crack from the impact which verifies Volvo's reputation as building the toughest safety cages in the industry.

You can see the Youtube video here.

Kitguru says: Even though Volvo ended up with egg on their face, the cars chassis proved strong enough to prevent any damage to the compartments – we would suggest however you don't test safety technology in the real world by attempting to drive at 80mph into a parked car. If you do however, please make sure you record it and send us the file.

Become a Patron!