WILL Volvos have to stay out of the fast lane on Europeโ€™s autoroutes and autobahns from next year?

That could be the case, because the Swedish carmaker has revealed it will limit the speed of all its products to 180km/h in its latest move to improve road safety.

Volvo is, of course, known for being a leader in building safer cars, likewise Saab, but the latter has ceased production in the wake of its disastrous takeover by General Motors.

The company said it was a necessary step on the road to achieving its ultimate goal of eliminating road deaths and believes that even if this move saves just one life, itโ€™s still worth doing.

โ€œPeople simply do not recognise the danger involved in speed,โ€ Volvo safety expert Jan Ivarsson said.

โ€œAs humans, we all understand the dangers with snakes, spiders and heights. With speeds, not so much.

โ€œPeople often drive too fast in a given traffic situation and have poor speed adaptation in relation to that traffic situation and their own capabilities as a driver.

โ€œWe need to support better behaviour and help people realise and understand that speeding is dangerous.โ€

More than limiting top speeds, which will be done electronically, Volvo is also examining โ€œsmart speed controlโ€ and virtual geofencing technologies that could automatically limit speeds in the vicinity of schools and hospitals, for instance.

Volvo president Hรฅkan Samuelsson said he wanted to โ€œstart a conversation about whether carmakers have the right or maybe even an obligation to install technology in cars that changes their driver’s behaviour, to tackle things like speeding, intoxication or distraction.

โ€œWe donโ€™t have a firm answer to this question, but believe we should take leadership in the discussion and be a pioneer.โ€

But we wonder why 180km/h is the magic number?

Will there be much difference between that and the frequently-achieved 200+ km/h on Europeโ€™s superhighways?

Will there be any, or more survivors if a car whacks into a Mack truck, a tree or locomotive at 180, rather than 200km/h?

Well, there might be at least one life saved, the Scandiwegian brain says, so get used to a limit of 180.

However, while it might be seen as a nanny move in Europe, it is viewed as near warp speed by Australian authorities, who have forever peddled their โ€˜speed killsโ€™ slogan, even though proportionally more people die on our roads at low speeds than high speeds in Europe.

More safety issues will be dealt with in a couple of weeks when Volvo presents its ideas and possible solutions to problem areas at a special safety event.