The EU Parliament adopted on 27 April a non-binding report by Gary Titley (PES, UK) urging for the inclusion of eCall technology to decrease road fatalities in the EU.
The eCall scheme requires fitting cars with a satellite device that automatically alerts operators linked to the 112 pan-European emergency number in case of an accident.
This way, operators would be able to identify where the accident has happened and send out emergency help as quickly as possible, reducing response time "by approximately 40% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas."
The initiative would compensate the shortcomings of existing privately-owned systems which struggle to operate at trans-national level. In addition, the report estimates that annual external costs of road traffic could be reduced by up to €26 billion.
However, some contentious points remain – notably on the costs of the initiative for consumers, which are estimated differently by the Commission and the industry. The report therefore invites both parties "to pursue a deeper cost-efficiency analysis" of the implementation of eCall.
The report finally recommends member states to upgrade their emergency services, and stresses the importance of all of them signing up to the eCall scheme – which is built on a voluntary basis.
