Safety Firsts
 In 1927, when Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson drew plans for their first motor car, they envisioned a car with all the attributes of a 'modern' vehicle design... plus safety. Their belief that good design includes good safety is still practiced today in Gothenburg, Sweden, headquarters of Volvo Cars.
Through the years, Volvo has produced safety features designed using extensive research of real-world accidents. In 1972, Volvo formed an Accident Investigation Team to study accidents involving Volvos. To date, the team has researched more than 20,000 individual accidents, resulting in significant improvements in automobile safety design such as the world's first production application side-impact air bags.
Volvo Safety Milestones 
- 1927 Safety glass windshields with automatic windshield wipers installed
- 1944 Steel cage created to help protect passenger compartment
- 1944 Laminated windshields installed 15 years before mandatory
- 1958 Three-point shoulder/lap seat belt patented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin
- 1959 Three-point shoulder/lap seat belts exclusively introduced in some models
- 1960 Padded instrument panel installed
- 1967 Three-point seat belts included in rear outboard seats
- 1970 Industry's first auto accident investigation team established
- 1973 Electric rear window defroster made standard on all models
- 1984 Anti-lock brakes (ABS) installed
- 1987 Three-point seat belts included in rear center seat
- 1991 Integrated booster cushion added for children 50-80 pounds and 46-54" tall
- 1992 Side impact structure installed five years before mandatory
- 1995 World's first side impact air bags introduced in 1995 models
- 2000 Volvo introduced the Whiplash Protection System
- 2002 World's First Pregnant Crash Test Dummy
- 2003 Roll Stability Control
- 2003 Special steel in a reinforced roof structure
- 2003 IC (Inflatable Curtain) - for all three rows of seats
- 2003 Lower cross-member for increased car-to-car compatibility
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