eCall
A software bug that can result in a crashed car sending incorrect location information to emergency services has led to a recall of 1.3 million vehicles by Mercedes-Benz in the USA. The recall came to light in a report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA) earlier this month, which references “a case in the European market” where a car was found to have sent incorrect location data following a collision. There is no central agency for vehicle recalls in the EU. […]
Updated rules on cross-border enforcement of traffic offences, vehicle roadworthiness, automated vehicles, and driving licenses and a proposal to add eCall automated emergency calling devices to motorcycles, trucks and buses are among a major package of new legislative measures for the transport sector announced by the European Commission last week. The new Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy follows the pattern of recent years of bundling up an array of new related measures into a package rather than announcing them individually. The Commission also says […]
All new models of car launched in the EU since 31 March include eCall, the automated emergency call system that alerts emergency services in the event of a collision. Research showed that, with eCall, emergency service response time would be cut by 50% in rural areas and 40% in urban areas. Inclusion of the system means that all new models of car sold in the EU are fitted with GPS devices and are capable of communication over the GSM phone network. This will facilitate […]
The European Transport Safety Council welcomes the final political agreement between the European Parliament and EU member states on mandatory installation of ‘eCall’, a system for sending automated emergency calls from cars in the event of a crash. The deal requires new models of car launched in the EU from 31 March 2018 to be fitted with the system. Separate legislation, already agreed by the European institutions requires member states to put in place the infrastructure to handle eCalls. Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of […]
The European Parliament and EU member states agreed in April on a law requiring national authorities to set up the infrastructure to handle automated emergency calls from cars. But the EU institutions still need to do a deal on a parallel piece of legislation that will require new cars to be fitted with the necessary equipment. The European Commission had originally proposed that the whole system be in place by October 2015, but pressure from manufacturers has led to a delay of at least […]
The European Parliament has backed EU plans for all new types of car and van to be fitted with automated emergency call devices (eCall). However, the Parliament backed away from a 2015 deadline for the introduction of the technology, pending discussions with EU member states. Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) said: “This technology is all about saving lives by saving time. So politicians should waste no more precious months getting this system in place: the deadline of the […]
The European Parliament’s internal market committee has backed EU plans for all new types of car and van to be fitted with automated emergency call devices but opened the door to postponing their introduction beyond the proposed deadline of October 2015. Today’s vote on ‘eCall’ gives a green light for a pan-European ‘type approval’ method to ensure the devices meet the necessary technical standards. The decision follows a vote in December in the transport committee to approve legislation for member states to develop the […]
EU plans for all new cars to be fitted with automated emergency call devices (eCall) moved a step closer today following a vote in the European Parliament’s Transport committee. ETSC welcomed the move. Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of ETSC said: “After a serious car crash, every second counts. This system has the potential to save many lives because it will enable the emergency services to respond quicker. “The European Parliament has been a strong supporter of eCall, it’s important that Parliament negotiators continue to […]
The European Commission has launched further proposals to prepare the way for the introduction of emergency call (eCall) to improve road safety. On the 13th of June, the European Commission proposed a Regulation requestig that all new types of vehicles in categories M1 and N1 entering the EU market after the 1st of October 2015 have an in-vehicle eCall system. On the same date, the European Commission adopted Decision 2013/0166 that will require EU Member States to deploy the necessary eCall Public Service Answering […]