Volvo Trucks introduces automatic speed limitation for increased safety
Volvo Trucks launches a new service which enables the activation of automatic speed limitation in predefined geographical areas. The main objective is increased safety.
Safer truck traffic in busy city areas, less damage within the truck depot and less stress for drivers who will know they will not accidentally exceed the speed limit. These are the main benefits of Safety Zones, Volvo Trucks’ new digital service. Volvo is one of the first truck manufacturers to launch a service of this kind.
Using Safety Zones, transport companies can set speed limits for each truck as it enters a predefined geographical area, a technology often referred to as “geofencing”. When the truck is operated within the area, acceleration above the zone speed limit is restricted by the engine. The truck actively brakes to reach the zone speed limit if it enters the zone with a higher speed.
“With this service, a transport company can secure that the speed of the vehicle is kept low. For example, in a harbor or at a logistics center, or in areas with a lot of people and traffic moving about like busy city centers and around schools,” explains Johan Rundberg, product manager at Volvo Trucks.
“The aim of the service is to make the traffic environment safer and to reduce stress for the driver. At Volvo, we continuously develop our safety systems with the purpose of taking steps towards our long-term vision of zero accidents with Volvo trucks.”
The fleet manager defines the geographical zones on a digital map, configures the allowed speed limit and has full control of which zone should be used for each truck. The driver will see in the instrument display that he or she is in a speed-limited zone and what the maximum speed is.
Safety Zones is a subscription service and part of Volvo Connect, Volvo Trucks’ interface for digital services for all customers. In the Volvo Connect portal, the fleet manager will receive an event notification whenever the truck enters or leaves the zone, and if the driver violates the maximum speed.
The new service is available on Volvo’s heavy-duty trucks Volvo FH, FM and FMX Euro 6 and with electric drivelines. This includes the new Volvo FM Low Entry, a truck that comes with electric drive only and which is especially suitable for traffic in city areas.
The service is available as of June 2025 for new trucks and as of September for existing trucks.
Facts: Safety Zones
- A service in Volvo Connect, Volvo’s digital service platform, that combines vehicle positioning with rules set for specific zones on a map.
- The telematic unit onboard the truck transmits its GPS position and receives instructions set by fleet management.
- Customized speed limits can be set from 20 km/h and above. Up to 300 zones can be active in a truck.
- The service automatically sets and limits the cruise control to the maximum set speed in the zone.
- Volvo Connect Positioning service is a prerequisite for Safety Zones.
- Available on Volvo’s heavy-duty trucks Volvo FH, FM and FMX Euro 6, and trucks with electric drivelines (produced later than autumn 2022), including Volvo FM Low Entry.
How Safety Zones works:
- When entering a zone, the truck will automatically brake to meet the set speed limit. The driver is notified in the instrument display.
- For safety purposes, the driver can override the speed limit by doing a kick-down on the accelerator pedal. If the driver uses cruise control, the speed cannot be set to a speed higher than the zone limit.
- Entering, leaving, override and speed violation events are shown to the fleet manager in Volvo Connect.
Source: Volvo Trucks
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