Cars will have an electronic safety system automatically calling emergency services in case of a serious accident. Even if the driver is unconscious, the system will inform rescue workers of the crash site's exact whereabouts, and the rescues will be on its way within minutes. The system, which has been baptized "eCall", is going to work all over the European Union.

It will soon be rolled out across the EU plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. 

As eCall normally 'sleeps', it does not allow vehicle tracking outside emergencies.

On 28 April 2015, the European Parliament voted in favor of eCall regulation which requires all new cars be equipped with eCall technology from April 2018. eCall will be seamlessly functioning throughout Europe by that time. In the event of a serious accident, eCall automatically dials 112 - Europe's single emergency number.

The project is partially funded by the European Commission under the ICT PSP programme.

eCall available standards defined and approved by European Standardisation Bodies, namely ETSI MSG and CEN TC 278 WG 15

Privacy Concern:

As with all schemes to add mandatory wireless transceivers to cars, there are privacy concerns to be addressed. Depending on the final implementation of the system, it may be possible for the system to become activated without an actual crash taking place. Also, the occupants of the car have no control over the remote activation of the microphone, making a car susceptible to eavesdropping.

Proposals for legislation to create a mandatory eCall system:

• A Regulation concerning type-approval requirements for the deployment of the eCall system making the vehicle fit for eCall; and

•  A Decision on the deployment of the interoperable EU-wide eCall – making the public infrastructure fit for eCall.

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Project approach and estimate:

Action to reduce death figures and injuries on Europe's roads is urgently needed! In 2009, about 35,000 people were killed and 1.5 million injured in about 1.15 million traffic accidents on the EU's road network alone. Getting an immediate alert in the event of an accident and knowing the exact location of the crash site cuts emergency services' response time by 50% in rural and 40% in urban areas.

Thanks to this gain in time, eCall is expected to save several hundred lives in the European Union each year, and to mitigate the severity of tens of thousands of injuries. eCall will also result in faster treatment of injured people, thereby giving accident victims better recovery prospects. Arriving at the accident scene sooner will also allow faster clearance of crash sites, thus reducing the risk of secondary accidents, decreasing congestion times, cutting fuel waste and lowering CO2 emissions. In hard financial terms, the EU's economic loss caused by road accidents amounts to more than €160 billion per year.

If all cars were equipped with the eCall system, up to €20 billion could be saved annually.