Volvo, the Swedish manufacturer known its durable and safety-oriented vehicles, has received an international award for its commitment to preventing accidents. Volvo’s in-house developed technology for avoiding low-speed collisions has been awarded the American “Traffic Safety Achievement Award” at this year’s World Traffic Safety Symposium in New York

Volvo will be the first manufacturer to install its low-speed safety technology, called City Safety, as standard equipment in a vehicle. It will be available later this year in the XC60, the first Volvo with the feature.

According to Volvo, approximately 75 percent of all collisions are at speeds less than 18 mph. In 50 percent of these collisions, drivers do not brake before the collision because of insufficient concentration.

If the vehicle in front brakes suddenly and City Safety assesses a collision is imminent, the brakes are prepared. If the driver does not take action, the car is braked automatically.

At speeds less than nine mph, City Safety can entirely avoid accidents. At speeds between 10-18 mph, the system applies brake force to reduce vehicle speed and helps reduce occupant injuries and vehicle damage.

“City Safety is yet another example of Volvo’s aim to utilize real world traffic situations to develop solutions to prevent accidents,” said Jonas Ekmark, head of preventive safety at the Volvo Cars Safety Centre.

At this year’s World Traffic Safety Symposium held at the New York International Auto Show, traffic safety specialists from the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, rewarded various manufacturer developments that reduce the number of injuries and fatalities.

“With City Safety, we hope to eliminate whiplash injuries, to both vehicles involved in typical city driving low speed accidents along with eliminating vehicle body damages,” said Ekmark.

Volvo is currently negotiations with several insurance companies in Europe considering an insurance premium discount of up to 30 percent for cars equipped with City Safety.