Volvo is working on a new safety system that will detect moving animals and other obstructions on the road, which would allow the car to automatically apply the brakes in case a collision was unavoidable.
The Swedish automaker has always had a knack for advanced safety systems, and now it is attempting to cut down on the millions of animals that are killed each year by drivers, reports Bloomberg. Collision detection systems are already available on many cars, including Volvos, but the new feature would use a radar sensor and infra-red camera to detect moving animals along the sides of roads and alert the driver.
"It'd be good because it'd allow the driver to avoid a lot of unnecessary animal killings," David Cain, who runs an annual roadkill cooking contest in West Virginia, told the news source. "He could still choose to run over something that's good for eating."
A recent report by State Farm found that car-deer collisions were already decreasing even without these systems, by about 7 percent over the past year alone.
Of course, safety systems can only do so much. It's up to the driver to keep up with their auto maintenance, paying special attention to things like worn tires or their vehicle's brakes, to ensure that they are able to stop on a dime.