The so-called safety divide is one of the major challenges automakers face as vehicle access and use continue to soar across the developing world.
In developing countries, the quality of roadways and the accompanying infrastructure are often well below the standards to which motorists in developed nations are accustomed. Add to that a range of other factors that converge to create hazardous – and often deadly – conditions: heavy pedestrian traffic; multiple riders on motorcycles; and trucks overloaded with passengers riding on the back.
In developed countries, our vehicle safety challenges include taking advantage of technology improvements. For example, systems to help cars and infrastructure "talk" to each other are being researched. We're also putting a lot of emphasis on active safety systems to prevent cars from getting into accidents.
Some challenges, such as compatibility, bridge developed and developing countries. The challenge regarding compatibility can be said to be how to get different categories of road users to interact in a way to minimize damaging outcome. One example is when big and small vehicles crash, another is pedestrian collisions – unfortunately a very common accident situation in developing countries especially.
Automakers can and should become more involved in improvement of road safety in the developing nations. We must work with local governments and NGOs to craft real solutions to their countries' mobility problems. We need to communicate responsible vehicle use. And we must take responsibility for the cars that we put on the road.
Developed nations have an opportunity to share the knowledge we have acquired over many years of motorization, enabling others to bypass the mistakes we made. It's easy to forget that our own automobile and driving regulations were extremely lax for a very long period of time. The majority of safety technologies were not around when motorization began.
We're sharing our experience through our involvement in the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) and the Global Road Safety Initiative. Together with other organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the World Bank, the GRSP has developed good practice guides about seat belt and helmet use that we're implementing in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, for example. We're also working to identify other ways to improve auto safety worldwide, including looking at drunk-driving laws and enforcement. It is critical that we contribute by on-site action – policies and talk alone will not do the job!
Lack of reliable accident data is a key issue in many of the countries. Another example of actual automaker action is the establishment of the Thailand Accident Research Center, established in 2003 by GRSP, Volvo Cars, the World Bank, the Thai government and academia. Sending VCC accident investigation experts, we worked on site with the Thais to set up this center – the first of its kind in Thailand – using Volvo's 30-plus years of experience on accident data handling and collection. Of course, Volvo gets useful information on the Thai market as well – something that can be fed back to product development.
We've found that the partnership approach is very important – no single sector can make the necessary changes on its own. We've also found that safety experts in developed and developing countries can learn a lot from each other.
I am proud to represent a company that is a part of this important activity to reach sustainability. 
Ingrid Skogsmo
Director, Volvo Cars Safety Center, Volvo Car Corporation, Goteborg, Sweden
Chair of Global Road Safety Partnership
