Europeans Move Towards Vehicles Auto-Dialing 112

A committee of the European Union (EU) has approved a plan to create the infrastructure necessary to support the auto-dialing of the 1-1-2 emergency telephone number by vehicles involved in a collision anywhere in Europe. The decision is based on research that shows that the immediate notification of emergency services could potentially reduce response times by up to 50% in rural areas and up to 40% in urban areas. Several EU countries already have some form of automatic crash notification (ACN) system, but the EU parliament wants to standardize it and make it operate EU-wide. Last December the European Transport Safety Council approved the so-called eCall system, and this week the EU’s internal market committee also approved the plan, which would initially cover new cars and vans. The system would detect a vehicle collision, much as the ACN system proposed for the United States. The call would be routed to a call center, which is now usually the emergency center in the European countries that are already using the technology. The current deadline for automakers is Oct. 2015, but it could be delayed by implementation complexities, the committee noted. There are private systems operating in the U.S., including OnStar, Ford 911 Assist, BMW Assist and Lexus Link. However, there is no initiative to mandate all vehicles be equipped and for public safety answering points (PSAP) to handle ACN telephone calls. Download (pdf) a comprehensive description of the eCall system (with county-by-country studies) here, and the Transport Council’s evaluation of the system here.

This diagram shows how an auto-dialing 1-1-2 system would immediately notify emergency services, reducing response time—the current notification method is at top, the proposed eCall system at bottom. Clock on the graphic for a larger view.

This diagram of the future eCall system shows how a vehicle accident (left) would generate a 1-1-2 call, alerting emergency services. Click on the graphic for a larger view.