Volvo Cars' safety experts recognised for excellence by NHTSA

Two of Volvo Cars’ top safety experts, Dr Trent Victor, Senior Technical Leader Crash Avoidance and Adjunct Professor at University of Iowa, US and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden and Jonas Ekmark, Manager Innovation for Active Safety and Chassis, were singled out for appreciation for their contributions in the field of car safety.

The awards, presented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at the 24th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) in Gothenburg on June 8, 2015, were in recognition and appreciation for extraordinary contributions in the field of motor vehicle safety. NHTSA presents these awards every two years to four or five selected individuals from different regions of the world.

“This award represents strong recognition of the importance of driver behaviour in reaching safety solutions for a crash-free future. It is an inspiration to all of us working on safety solutions at Volvo Cars. It emphasises our customer focus and further encourages our work in developing crash avoidance systems that are both coveted and highly effective at improving safe driving,” said Dr Victor.

Dr Victor, an internationally recognised safety expert, has worked in the field for over 20 years. In that time he has filed more than 20 patents and published over 60 papers on the subject while establishing a unique track record of applying behavioural science data to crash avoidance innovation. He is currently focusing on minimising the risks of inattention or distraction caused by infotainment systems using eye-movement monitoring, designing crash avoidance active safety systems and autonomous drive functionality. Dr Victor’s expertise in behavioural science also lends itself to a unique focus on naturalistic data – the human side of the safety equation – which fits seamlessly with Volvo’s focus on meeting and exceeding the needs of people in the car experience.

Jonas Ekmark, who has also demonstrated both imagination and foresight in his work in developing safety systems has a résumé full of world first inventions and applications that have gone a long way in further cementing Volvo Cars’ position as a global leader in car safety. Since 1994 Mr Ekmark has registered more than 30 patents in his work for Volvo Cars. His achievements include the development and application of auto braking systems aimed at either reducing or avoiding potential collisions. Initially his work focused on collisions with other vehicles, but that has now expanded to include pedestrians, cyclists and animals. Mr Ekmark also continues to play an important role in the development of autonomous drive system development and connectivity-based safety data sharing projects.

“I am really honoured and happy to receive this recognition for the work we do here at Volvo Cars. Our focus is, as ever, people. Our long-term vision is to design cars that do not crash. The development of self-driving technology is an important step towards that vision. Recent advances in technology and our consistent approach of basing our innovations on real-life safety situations are enabling us to redefine the in-car experience. Awards such as these let us know that we are capable of making a difference – and that is very satisfying,” said Jonas Ekmark, Manager Innovation for Active Safety and Chassis at Volvo Cars.