Brussels, 11/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - As of October 2015, all new models of cars must be fitted with the “eCall” system, which automatically alerts the emergency services in the event of an accident. This is the outcome of the vote of Tuesday 11 February by the committee on the internal market of the European Parliament, on a text amending the proposal of the European Commission. The report by Olga Sehnalova (S&D, Czech Republic) was adopted by a huge majority (34 votes in favour, two against) by the committee.
Following the adoption of the report, in some turmoil over procedural questions to ensure its swift adoption, the rapporteur said that she was “confident” that from October 2015, all new models of cars and light commercial vehicles will be connected to the central emergency service, 112. She hopes that this technology will help to save 2,500 lives a year. The system embedded in cars will trigger, directly and free of charge, an alert in the event of a road accident, whether or not the passengers are conscious. The aim of this is to get the emergency services to the scene more quickly and reduce traffic problems related to road traffic accidents.
The deadline of October 2015 for eCall systems to be installed in new models of private cars and small commercial vehicles was laid down by the Commission, in response to a request by the Parliament in July 2012. However, responding to calls from the sector, which wants more time to develop and test the system, the MEPs have built in the option for this deadline to be put back. The Commission must also carry out an assessment by 2018 on whether it is possible to extend the eCall system to other vehicles, such as buses, coaches and trucks, the parliamentary committee has asked.
Protection of privacy. The MEPs shored up the clause related to data protection in the draft text. They modified the provisions in order to guarantee that vehicles fitted with the eCall system will not be subject to constant surveillance. If an accident has the effect of triggering the eCall system, the data automatically transmitted to the emergency response centres should relate only to the type of activation, the category of vehicle, the type of fuel used, the time of the accident, the precise location of the vehicle and the direction in which it was travelling, as well as the number of seatbelts fastened at the time of the accident. There are also plans for voice contact with any passengers who are conscious.
Informal negotiations. Sehnalova's report will be examined at the next plenary session in late February, but informal contacts with the Council could take place in parallel in order to speed up adoption of the text by the European institutions. However, this is unlikely under this legislative period of the EP.
The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) welcomed the vote, as the technology is already in place, and cutting the time taken to react to accidents can help save lives. The executive director of the association, Antonio Avenoso, now calls on the negotiators of the EP to support the “strongest possible” implementation of the technology in their negotiations with the Council. (MD/transl.fl)