Volvo Provides Test Car for New Safety Device Examination
18 September 1998
Volvo Provides Test Car for New Safety Device ExaminationROCKLEIGH, N.J., Sept. 18 -- There is little doubt that removing unfit drivers from the roads would improve traffic safety substantially. Fred Goldberg has come up with an idea to achieve exactly that. Goldberg's stepdaughter was tragically killed five years ago by a drunken driver who was operating his vehicle holding a suspended driver's license. An inventor, Goldberg has designed a concept whereby a driver's license equipped with a computer chip is used as the ignition key to a car. Without a valid license or insurance, it will be impossible to drive a car equipped with this system. Goldberg will present his idea during a seminar in Irvine, California September 21-22, 1998. Volvo has agreed to equip a Volvo S70 sedan with Goldberg's invention and display it at this seminar. Afterward, the car will be loaned to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee for six months for testing and participation in other conferences. "Technically it is feasible to develop the Electronic License system with today's technology. However, there is a need to explore the concept before the governments of the world can consider the device applicable to real life driving. With the Volvo S70, we support the research that the Laboratory will undertake to analyze the viability of the system. This sort of analysis is in line with Volvo's own safety research policy," says William Shapiro, director of safety engineering at Volvo Cars of North America. Inc.