Standards save lives: European Standardization in support of eCall
Road traffic accidents are an unfortunate consequence of road transport. In an ever more digitalised and connected society, ITS supports road safety through automated and real-time communication between vehicles and emergency services. Known as 112-eCall, this communication is already saving lives. eCall puts the occupants of the vehicle in direct communication with the emergency services and automatically provides the location of the accident, the vehicle involved, the numbers of passengers in a vehicle at the time of impact, and other key data, which enables the prompt and most appropriate emergency response. Understanding the content of a vehicle can help the emergency services send appropriate resources and minimise risks and disruption for road users. The benefits of this technology are widely acknowledged, but they can only be ensured by proper standardization. The relevant public and private actors have been working together and the development of appropriate CEN standards has already enabled the mandatory equipping of all new models of cars and light vans. Furthermore, eCall standards specifications are now also available for every other category of vehicle, enabling these to be implemented on a voluntary basis, or on mandated use where regulators deem this appropriate in order to reduce deaths and injuries.
Co-existence with third party assistance providers is also enabled through CEN standardization. This challenging topic will truly improve the survivability of all European road users, should they unfortunately be involved in a road traffic accident/emergency. To know more about eCall standardization, you can read the leaflet CEN and CENELEC recently published at this link.