Unless EU member states sign up for the eCall crash alert system, regulatory measures may follow, writes SHANE O'DONOGHUE
THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) warned last week that, if no significant voluntary progress is made in the implementation of the “eCall” crash alert system by the end of 2009, it may “propose regulatory measures”.
As of last week Ireland, Denmark, France, Latvia, Malta and the UK had not signed up to implement eCall, mainly due to concerns related to cost.
Figures provided by the Commission suggest that road accidents cost the EU economy €160 billion per year and that eCall could reduce that figure by €26 billion.
According to a spokeswoman from the Department of Transport: “Ireland is positively disposed in principle to the concept of eCall. The system is still under development at EU level. Technical standards have yet to be finalised. Operational tests have yet to take place.”
However, the Government has been criticised for not committing to the system for financial reasons.
Following a major impact, the eCall system automatically contacts the nearest emergency centre and conveys the precise location of the car, greatly speeding up emergency services’ response time and dramatically improving the occupants’ chances of survival.
The EC estimates that up to 2,500 lives per year could be saved, with the severity of other injuries lessened.
“Too many people are still dying on European roads,” according to Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for information society and media. “Every week I hear about road accidents where eCall would have helped. The time has come for member states and industry to move from talk to action.”
Although the eCall hardware could cost at least €100 per vehicle for car makers to install, the global satellite positioning system (GPS) could be used for other purposes, such as for road tolling and for fleet management.
The eCall system is designed to work across borders and regardless of the local language.