eCall Emergency Call

Objective

To reduce the response time when an emergency call is made and thereby reduce the severity of any injuries to the vehicle’s occupants.

The eCall system automatically or manually makes a call to the emergency services in the event of an accident.

How it works

When the vehicle’s sensors interpret that a crash has occurred, the eCall system immediately sends a call to the appropriate emergency services.

To facilitate the arrival of the emergency services, this call consists of the following two elements: a voice call and a message containing information about the vehicle involved in the accident, its exact location, the time of the accident ,and the direction the vehicle was traveling in.

It also collects data related to the vehicle (make, model and color), how the call has been activated, manually or automatically, and also, in the event that the driver has contracted a private service provider, the driver’s ID.

When the eCall has sent the call, an operator analyzes it and, provided it is an emergency call, sends it on to the appropriate center.  A voice conversation will be initiated between the emergency platform and the interior of the vehicle to confirm the need for assistance and to advise the occupants of their prompt assistance should be necessary.

Components

• ABS/ESP control unit.
• SIM card.
• GPS.
• Manually operated button located inside the vehicle in an accessible area to avoid activation errors and false alarms, which triggers the emergency in the same way as the automatic call.

Collisions avoided

Its purpose is not to avoid any type of collision, but rather to reduce the severity of injuries by minimizing the response time of the emergency services, since it is a passive safety system. It is only activated once an accident has occurred.

Effectiveness

This system will minimize response time in urban areas by 40% and in rural areas by 50%. It is estimated to reduce fatalities by 4% and the number of serious injuries caused by traffic accidents by 6%.

Use and limitations

In the event that the sensors do not detect the incident, if any of the occupants have a medical emergency, or if we witness an accident, this system can also be activated manually.

In areas where there is no cell phone coverage, the e-Call system will not work.

Mandatory

As of March 31, 2018 this system has been mandatory for all new types of vehicles under 3500 kg, excluding motorcycles.