A visit to Legoland with his twin daughters in 2007 inspired Axelson to turn an amusement park ride into an efficient test method in Volvo Cars' quest for better protection in run-off road crashes.
"Watching people being thrown in all directions during a ride in the 'Robocoaster', I suddenly realised that those rapid, random movements resembled the violent forces occupants in a run-off road crash are exposed to," said Axelson.
Run-off road crashes had been on his mind since 2006 when Volvo Cars intensified the development of technology to help protect car occupants in these common and complex scenarios.
Based on real-life accident data, Axelson's team initiated three complete vehicle crash test track methods, called 'Ditch', 'Airborne' and 'Rough Terrain', for evaluating the consequences of various run-off road scenarios.
"The most valuable result from the 'Robocoaster' tests is probably the insight into how well the safety belt retraction interacts with the enhanced side support in our new seat generation," he said.
By the way, Axelson never went on the 'Robocoaster' ride during that visit to Legoland.
"No way. Violent rides like that make me sick," he said.
