Strasbourg, 15/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - eCall does not yet exist in cars but it has already been established that the infrastructure for emergency 112 calls in the event of road accidents will be in place by October 2017 at the latest. On Tuesday 15 April, the European Parliament ratified the trialogue compromise by 538 votes to 126, with 10 abstentions, on the basis of a report by Philip De Backer (ALDE, Belgium)
This is only a first step before the automatic emergency eCall system (whose technology is now ready) becomes a reality for European drivers. Negotiations are still ongoing to determine when it will be compulsory for manufacturers to equip private passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with this device in Europe. Parliament is hoping that this will by October next year.
The infrastructure rules, as confirmed by the European Parliament in its plenary session, also stipulate that the network will be ready earlier, six months before the eCall devices are fitted to new cars. It will be for member states to decide how best to handle emergency calls. The directive is not too prescriptive on the subject, as long as it remains free for road users. It is therefore a first step before the eCall system can begin to ensure low-cost road safety. The Commission estimates that the 112 eCall can speed up emergency response times by 40-50% and can reduce the number of fatalities by at least 4%. European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas said that the system provides substantial benefits and will help achieve the goal of halving the number of people killed on the roads by 2020 (2010 figures). (MD)