The Volvo EX90 is one of the three electric models receiving the new Connected Safety alerts. Illustrative image
Volvo expands Connected Safety: alerts for crashes, pedestrians and roadworks
Volvo is expanding Connected Safety on the electric EX60, EX90 and ES90, which can warn the driver about crashes, roadworks, large animals, pedestrians or cyclists further along the route. The information is sent in real time over the internet and cloud infrastructure, before the hazard enters the driver’s field of view.
The four new warning categories are being introduced in Europe, the United States and Canada. They complement older functions that already let Volvo cars flag a slippery road or a vehicle stopped with its hazard lights on.
What new warnings drivers will see
Connected Safety can show the driver information about situations on the same road. The update announced by Volvo covers:
- crashes further along the route;
- areas where roadworks are under way;
- large animals on the carriageway or immediately beside it;
- pedestrians and cyclists in unexpected, hazardous places, for example on a high-speed road.
The alert appears as a symbol in the driver’s display and can also be projected onto the head-up display if the car has that equipment. The system therefore gives extra time to reduce speed and prepare a manoeuvre, but the decision and control of the car remain with the driver.
Volvo does not present the function as a system that brakes automatically on the basis of information received from a distance. Connected Safety’s role is to give early notice of a hazard that cannot yet be seen directly.
How the cars communicate with each other
Vehicle-to-vehicle communication can suggest that two cars send radio signals directly to each other. With Connected Safety, the exchange runs through an internet connection and cloud services.
A car or another connected source identifies a relevant situation and sends it to the platform. The data is associated with the road where the hazard sits, and compatible vehicles approaching that stretch can receive the warning. Volvo uses both information supplied by cars and data from road infrastructure and safety-data-sharing ecosystems.
One example already used by the brand is the slippery-road alert. The car can estimate low grip from wheel behaviour and the control systems, then inform other vehicles that later reach the same area. In a similar way, switching on the hazard lights can generate a warning for drivers who are approaching.
Which Volvo models get the new alerts
Volvo names the EX60, EX90 and ES90 for the expansion with the four types of warning. All three are electric models built around the company’s new generation of electronic architecture and software.
Connected Safety is not entirely new. Volvo introduced its first functions of this type in 2016, initially for a slippery road and cars with hazard lights on. The company later expanded the service in Europe and also tested information exchange between cars and Volvo trucks.
Older Connected Safety functions may exist on other models in the range, but that does not automatically mean they receive all four new warnings. Availability depends on the model, hardware generation, software version and market.
Where information about pedestrians or roadworks comes from
Not every pedestrian spotted by a car’s sensors is automatically uploaded to the cloud. Volvo’s documentation describes the warning as intended for unusual situations in which a pedestrian or cyclist may be an unexpected hazard, such as presence on a motorway.
For crashes and roadworks, the system can use real-time data from several connected sources. Volvo has for several years taken part in European projects in which manufacturers, road operators and national traffic centres can share information. The advantage of such a network is that the alert does not necessarily have to come from another Volvo car.
The manufacturer has not published a complete list of data providers for each country, nor a guaranteed time in which a situation reaches the car’s screen. A warning should be treated as extra information, not as a complete and infallible picture of the road.
Conditions and limits
For the function to work, Connected Safety must be enabled in the privacy settings, the car must have an internet connection, and the road in question must exist in Volvo Cars’ database. The vehicle supplying the information must also be compatible and connected, if the alert comes from that vehicle.
Those conditions explain why the system will not flag every obstacle. In an area without signal, on a road that is not mapped properly, or when no connected participant has reported the situation, the warning may be missing.
Volvo also notes that reduced grip is not detected in every case. The estimate is usually based on the difference in friction between the tyres and the road surface, and a car that crosses a slippery stretch cautiously may not generate enough data for an alert.
The function does not replace the driver’s attention, following distance or speed adaptation. It only offers an extra indication of what is happening beyond the bend, the queue or the vehicle that is blocking the view.
What it means for drivers in Romania
Romania sits geographically in the European region announced by Volvo, but actual operation must be checked for each car and software version. The manufacturer did not publish a separate timetable for the Romanian market in the announcement, nor a local list of compatible roads or data sources.
For a buyer of an EX60, EX90 or ES90, the useful check is not only whether the Connected Safety name appears in the equipment list. The dealer should confirm which alerts are active in Romania, which software update is required, and whether the service has its own connectivity conditions or a data subscription after the period included with the car.
Usefulness grows with the number of vehicles and road operators connected to the same network. On busy routes, an early report of a crash or an obstacle can reach more drivers. On isolated roads, where there are few data sources, the benefit may be smaller.
Frequently asked questions
What is Volvo Connected Safety?
It is a service that uses the internet and cloud infrastructure to share information between vehicles about hazards and road conditions further along the route.
Which models receive the new warnings?
Volvo has announced the new alerts for the EX60, EX90 and ES90 in Europe, the United States and Canada.
Does the car brake automatically when it receives an alert?
The announcement describes warnings shown to the driver, not a braking command sent through the cloud. The driver remains responsible for the reaction and for control.
Does the system work without the internet?
No. An internet connection is one of the conditions Volvo lists for the information exchange.
Can Connected Safety be switched off?
Yes. Volvo shows in the user documentation that the function can be enabled or disabled in the car’s privacy settings.
