Volvo Car Corp. wants to bring to an end the sight of slaughtered animal carcasses on the side of the road, as the safety-focused luxury brand seeks to gain a technological edge over BMW AG.

In development is a system that uses a radar sensor and an infrared camera to alert the driver to nearby critters and brake if a collision is unavoidable. That technology is due to be rolled out in a few years in cars like the XC90 sport-utility vehicle, priced at $38,400, after employees studied the movement of moose and deer in southern Sweden.

"It'd be good because it'd allow the driver to avoid a lot of unnecessary animal killings," said David Cain, who runs an annual roadkill cooking contest in West Virginia. "He could still choose to run over something that's good for eating."

A costly hazard

While frying up squashed squirrels may not be to everyone's taste, wild animals are a costly hazard. There were an estimated 1.09 million collisions with deer in the U.S. in the 12 months through June 30, causing about $3.5 billion in damages, according to State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

Volvo, owned by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., is seeking ways to stand out among competitors as all cars get safer. Road deaths in the U.S. are down 25 percent since 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz deliver three times as many cars and are targeting record 2011 sales, while Volvo's deliveries are forecast to trail a 2007 high. The world's top three luxury-car brands are also working on their own active safety features.

The Swedish manufacturer, which became the first carmaker to introduce a system that brakes for pedestrians last year, needs to stay ahead on safety to underpin its claim to premium prices. Volvo's safety package, which includes lane-departure warning and pedestrian detection, costs $2,100 on the $31,150 S60 sedan, according to its website.

"We are the leader right now in active safety, and we want to continue to be the leader," Volvo CEO Stefan Jacoby said in an interview. "It's very important" for the company's goals, which include doubling sales to 800,000 vehicles by 2020 and eliminating deadly accidents in its models the same year.