• Needless to say, the belt system in the Volvo S80 has been integrated with the airbag systems as these systems interact.
• So the trigger levels and activation forces are determined in harmony with belt functions, such as the pre-tensioners and the force limiters.
• The passenger airbag is invisibly stored under the upper part of the dashboard and is designed to activate in order to help protect the passenger. As a result, there are two trigger levels depending on how the passenger is sitting. In the U.S., an airbag is mandatory but the seat belt usage is only in the 70% range and the airbag must therefore decide how much force it is going to use.
• A belt sensor indicates whether or not the front seat passenger is wearing a seat belt and the airbag trigger level is adjusted accordingly.
• If a seat belt is being used, the bag has a higher trigger level compared with a situation in which the passenger is not wearing a belt and is totally dependent on the bag for protection. This means that more crash energy is needed to trigger the bag when the passenger is wearing a seat belt than when he is not.
• Back in the 1960's, Volvo pioneered the collapsible steering column, a feature which has been a self-evident part of every Volvo car since then.
• In the Volvo S80, this function has been further improved and the steering wheel can be pushed further back, as a result of the collapsing function in both the lower and upper steering shaft which creates additional space for the steering wheel to be kept away from the driver. Belt and bag further help protect the driver from contact with the steering wheel.
Two Important New Features, WHIPS and 1C
• The Volvo S80 includes two important new safety features. Both of them help protect what is perhaps the most vital parts the body, the neck and head.
WHIPS, Whiplash Protection System
• In 1997, the Volvo Car Corporation presented the Whiplash Protection Study, WHIPS, which was an R&D project designed to produce a seat which would reduce the risk of whiplash injuries in rear-end collisions.
• The WHIPS system has now been incorporated in the Volvo S80, making it perhaps the substantiated safest car on the market in rear-end collisions.
• Although they are most frequently caused at low speeds in relatively minor accidents, whiplash injuries are extremely painful, both physically and mentally, for the people who sustain them, as well as being difficult to detect and define. They are also perhaps the single most expensive injury in insurance terms.
• Although they have still not been fully explained in medical terms, it is clear that whiplash injuries are caused by the sudden "whiplash" movement of the head- backwards and then forwards- when it is exposed to violence from behind, otherwise known as the catapult effect.
• Since rear-end collisions often occur in city traffic, the Volvo WHIPS system is optimized to be most effective lower speeds.
• The WHIPS system is based on two mechanical parts and works in two stages. It is activated the moment the car is hit from behind.
Page 14