Under new rules that have been approved by lawmakers of the European Union, all cars and light vans in Europe will need to have automatic emergency calling devices installed by April 2018.
The eCall device, which will send out automatic alerts to the nearest emergency center in accident sites through calling up the emergency number of 112 used in the European Union, will provide the authorities with information that includes the exact time and location of a car crash and how many passengers were riding in the vehicle when the accident occurred.
The lawmakers believe that with the eCall system, road fatalities can be decreased by up to 10 percent per year. Last year, 25,700 lives were claimed by road accidents in the European Union.
The European Parliament stamped their approval on the law on April 28, which means that automobile manufacturing companies such as Volvo and Volkswagen will need to make sure that all the cars and light vans they produce will come with the eCall devices by March 31, 2018.
"This decision brings Europe one step closer to making operational a system which we have been advocating since 2004," said European Automobile Manufacturers' Association secretary general Erik Jonnaert, reflecting the overall support of the automobile industry to the law's approval.
According to the European Commission, the body which proposed the regulation, the emergency response time will decrease by 50 percent in the rural areas and by 60 percent in urban areas once the eCall system is implemented.
Passengers will also be able to send out alerts from the eCall system through pushing a button within the vehicle, which will allow witness of accidents to make reports.
The eCall devices will not be tracking the vehicles outside of emergency situations, and the authorities will have no capability to transfer data collected by the devices to other parties without explicit consent being made by the person or people involved.
"eCall is a perfect example of an EU supported project that developed technological solutions to save people's lives. The legislation now allows delivering real benefits of digital technology," said Günther H. Oettinger, the Commissioner for digital society and economy.
However, there were some members of the European Parliament that opposed the proposal. Putting up the infrastructure for the eCall system will use up a huge part of the budget for road safety but it will not prevent any accident, according to Vicky Ford.
Nevertheless, the law has now been approved. Three years after its launch, the program will then be assessed to see whether the eCall system can be installed in bigger vehicles such as trucks and buses.
