In automotive safety, there’s a long-standing assumption that gender inequity is unavoidable.
Now, new research from the Volvo Cars Safety Centre challenges that assumption, showing how women and men have been equally protected in Volvo cars for decades.
For more than 50 years, we have learned from real-world crashes to better understand how they affect people with different characteristics, including gender, height, body shape and weight.
Our latest findings demonstrate that equal protection is possible when safety development is guided by real-world data and a commitment to designing for everyone.
Comparing Volvo car models from 2010–2019 with models from 1970–1979, overall injury risk for drivers has decreased by 79 per cent. For women, the reduction is even greater, at 88 per cent, bringing injury risk to the same level as that of men.
The results also show substantial advances in occupant protection across all seating positions. Restrained rear-seat occupants in Volvo cars benefit from protection levels comparable to, and in some cases exceeding, those of front-seat occupants.
This underscores the effectiveness of decades of rear-seat safety innovation in Volvo cars, despite the lack of stringent regulatory requirements and standardised testing over the years.
“For too long, safety in the automotive industry has not worked equally well for everyone,” says Åsa Haglund, head of Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “At Volvo Cars, we've taken a different approach. By studying real-world crashes and designing with the needs of women, men and children of all body types in mind, we've worked for decades to provide a high level of protection regardless of who you are or where you sit in the car. Our latest research confirms that this is possible and that equal protection is not just an ambition, but something we have been able to achieve in Volvo cars for many years.”
The approach behind equal safety for everyone
Since 1970, we have collected data from over 50,000 real-world crashes involving over 80,000 occupants. Through our Circle of Life safety development approach, these insights are translated into safety requirements, testing, vehicle development, verification and production. The result is a continuous cycle of learning that helps drive innovations and improve protection for everyone.
This approach has also laid the foundation for the pioneering Volvo Cars Safety Standard. We set our own benchmark for real-world safety, going above and beyond what is required in regulations or safety ratings. This includes developing and testing cars for a wider range of real-world crash scenarios across all seating positions.
And because real world crashes don’t involve standardised crash test dummies, our research involves considering a diverse range of occupant characteristics, including gender, height, body shape and weight. As a result, our safety innovations are designed with the same diversity in mind.
For decades, we have openly shared its safety research to help raise safety standards across the industry. As part of the Equal Vehicles for All (E.V.A.) Initiative, launched in 2019, more than 50 years of safety research is freely accessible in a digital library – enabling other carmakers, researchers and policymakers to build on our unique real-world safety insights.
The full report is available here.
