GREENSBORO, N.C. — Volvo has added a new Active Braking feature to its Volvo Enhanced Cruise (VEC), which provides automatic braking when a collision is imminent even when the vehicle is not in cruise control.

Previously, VEC would intervene by dethrottling the engine, activating the engine brake and applying up to one-third of the service brake pressure when a rear-end collision was about to occur, but only when the truck was in cruise control. Audible alerts would be issued whether or not the truck was in cruise.

Now, Volvo has announced, VEC with Active Braking will dethrottle the engine and apply up to two-thirds of the service brake pressure even if cruise is not active.

“Active Braking provides valuable situational information and helps professional drivers take preventative measures to avoid hazards,” said Frank Bio, Volvo Trucks product manager, trucks. “Volvo’s integrated approach to active safety technologoes provides the unique advantage of being able to set the warning hierarchy and present the most important warning or warnings to the driver.”

VEC uses a radar sensor mounted to the front of the truck to measure following distance and detect stationary metal objects in the truck’s path.

Volvo also has announced it’s offering a lane departure warning system, which uses a windshield-mounted camera, sophisticated vision software, processor and power supply into a compact unit.

“The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) attributes human error as the cause of more than 90% of all truck-involved crashes,” Bio said, citing FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study. “Active safety technologies that provide driver warnings and take corrective action play a vital role in helping to avoid accidents, while continuing to help drive the strong downward trend in truck-involved crash rates.”

Truck News recently visited Houghton, Mich. for a demonstration of Volvo’s latest active safety systems. Watch for a full report in an upcoming issue.