Volvo's electric vehicles can now alert you to the presence of a deer near a blind turn.

      Volvo is implementing alerts for large animals, vulnerable road users, roadworks, and accidents ahead in its EX60, EX90, and ES90 electric vehicles via a software update. In Europe, this feature utilizes Data for Road Safety, a collaborative network that consolidates hazard reports from competing automakers and eight national road authorities.

      Volvo's electric cars are becoming adept at alerting drivers about deer. The software update introduces four hazard notifications for the EX60, EX90, and ES90, focusing on large animals, pedestrians and cyclists, roadworks, and upcoming accidents.

      The concept is that your vehicle can recognize what another vehicle has detected. These alerts complement the Slippery Road Alert and Hazard Light Alert features that Volvo has been using since 2016.

      The earlier system had its origins in Sweden, where Volvo tested it in Sweden and Norway before expanding it across Europe in 2019, allowing its vehicles to warn one another about ice and breakdowns.

      The underlying framework in Europe is not exclusively a Volvo initiative. The alerts leverage Data for Road Safety, a network established by European transport ministers in Amsterdam in 2017, long before the Data Act made vehicle data a legal concern.

      The interesting aspect of this network is its membership. BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo collectively share hazard reports alongside HERE, TomTom, NIRA Dynamics, and road authorities from eight EU member states.

      The four types of alerts are not entirely new categories; a 2013 EU delegated regulation already outlined these, including “animals, people, obstacles, or debris on the road,” which encompasses deer.

      Europe tends to legislate such measures rather than waiting for them to develop organically. This same tendency led to the General Safety Regulation, which mandated that every new car sold in the bloc be equipped with a driver-facing camera as of July.

      In contrast, North America lacks a comparable framework. Volvo has not disclosed what sources contribute to the alerts there, which is significant because the effectiveness of a hazard network depends on the number of vehicles providing data.

      “Every time a Volvo car shares safety information, it allows other drivers to prepare sooner to avoid accidents and enhance their safety,” said Åsa Haglund, head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre.

      Volvo continues to experiment first in its home market. Its Safety Coach app, which rates driving behavior and offers the score to insurers, was launched this month in Sweden and Norway before being made available elsewhere.

      Thus, while the deer alert is the prominent feature, the underlying infrastructure is the significant story. A Swedish automaker owned by Geely is implementing a system that European ministers, competing manufacturers, and eight national road agencies have spent years developing.