Media release: 09 June 2017
Autonomous Vehicle Tech Developers Win Major Safety Award
Two traffic engineers responsible for developing safety technology used by hundreds of Kiwi drivers have been recognised
with a major award for their contribution to improving traffic safety and reducing fatalities.
Per Lenhoff, senior manager, and Magdalena Lindman, technical expert in Traffic Safety Data Analysis, who work at the
Volvo Cars Safety Centre, one of the most advanced testing facilities in the automotive industry, have been recognised
by US based National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for their contribution to enhanced traffic safety.
Over the years they have worked on developing a range of systems including run-off road occupant protection and both
physical and CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) test methods that capture and replicate real-life crashes.
Volvo Cars’ New Zealand general manager Coby Duggan says the safety systems developed by Lenhoff and Lindman have been
installed on hundreds of Volvo’s driven on New Zealand roads and says their latest advancements will be launched in NZ
later this year in the new XC60 which will have one of the highest levels of standard advanced driver assistance and
steering support systems on the market.
“Over the past 90 years, Volvo has been a pioneer of new technology to protect vehicle occupants while driving and now
with their advances in autonomous driving technology, we are entering a new generation of safety for all road users.
“With each new model introduced by Volvo we get closer to our goal that no one should be killed or seriously injured in
a new Volvo by 2020 - the technology onboard the new XC60 will be the latest step towards this objective,” he says.
Duggan says the company has been collecting data from thousands of real-world accidents since 1970 with the aim of
better understanding and addressing real-life safety needs. The Safety Vision and Real-Life Safety are part of Volvo
Cars’ sustainability programme – Omtanke.
-Ends-