A new report into the value of the emergency alerting technology eCall has found a number of ways it could considerably improve road safety, but pointed out that, at the moment, two-thirds of its alerts are false alarms.
eCall automatically raises the alarm in the event of a crash when the airbags are deployed, and it can also be manually activated by the driver or passenger by pressing the eCall SOS button. It has been installed in all newly approved cars and vans across the UK and Europe since 2018.
In a report for the RAC Foundation, National Highways’ former Chief Road Safety Adviser, Dr Nick Reed, says that common causes of manual false alarms include “button misuse, poor interface design, system faults and demonstration presses at dealerships.”
Even where calls are genuine, he says, not enough information is systematically reaching the emergency services, including the vehicle characteristics contained in the standardised set of data that is sent to the emergency call handling centre whether eCall is activated manually or automatically.
The leading consultant also believes that more of the information provided by eCall should be passed on not just to the police, ambulance, and fire and rescue services, but also to the organisations responsible for running the major road networks (National Highways in England, for example) so they can manage traffic better and alert other road users to dangers in front of them.
The figures are revealed in a report – Spoiler Alert: Is the eCall emergency alerting system fulfilling its road safety promise?.
The report warns that even if the false alarms can be reduced and the data is used more effectively, the owners of up to four million cars and vans fitted with early versions of eCall could find themselves with systems that don’t work because they rely on 2G and 3G mobile phone networks which are progressively being turned off.
The specialist start-up company VESOS Solutions, founded by transport consultants Andy Graham, Andy Rooke, Danny Woolard and Alan Gentle was set up to analyse and process eCall data to create validated incident alerts, while also providing consultancy services on implementation and business cases for eCall, along with strategic advice and data analysis. In a project in Ireland, its analysis identified how there are certain “hotspots” for false alarms from the eCall system, notably around car hire locations and car dealerships. It concluded these calls are probably made when people are trying the SOS button in a vehicle they are collecting, and suggests more driver education around eCall is required, although VESOS’s TeCall solution can identify them as they are made.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “eCall is a great idea. Initially conceived as a system that would automatically raise the alarm after a crash where drivers and passengers can’t do it themselves, it can be particularly useful in remote areas where no other road users are on hand to dial 999.
“However, this report reveals a number of shortcomings in the system that need sorting, not least in the processes through which data is handled and the system’s historical reliance on old mobile phone networks that are being turned off. This requires urgent attention otherwise lives could be at risk from life-saving technology failing when it’s needed most.
“The number of manually triggered false alarms also suggests the need for action to explain what is clearly still an unfamiliar system for many drivers.
“One huge potential benefit is the use of eCall alongside, or instead of, stopped vehicle detection apparatus on the motorway network. There is understandable public and political concern about the dangers of vehicles breaking down in the live lanes of motorways, especially those sections that are all-lane running. eCall could help reduce those dangers by providing network managers with the swift, accurate notification that could save a bad situation turning into a catastrophe.”
Dr Nick Reed, the report author, commented: “With the estimated potential to reduce road deaths by 5%, the case for accelerating the emergency response to road crashes through the eCall alert system is clear.
“While the system has been successfully fitted to all new cars and light goods vehicles type-approved since April 2018, the report highlights that its effectiveness is being undermined by challenges in exploiting the data it provides and by a high rate of false alerts, often triggered by accidental misuse.
“As an ever-increasing proportion of vehicles are equipped with eCall and similar functionalities become available via smartphones, smartwatches and dashcams, it is essential that we assess the true value of these technologies and ensure we unlock their full, life-saving potential.”
When eCall is activated the call is put through either to the normal 999 call centre (currently operated by BT) or to a third-party call handler which will triage the call and decide whether it should be put through to the 999 call centre.
The report suggests a number of high-profile incidents where eCall, had it been available, is likely to have made a significant difference. These include:
- Selby train crash – February 2001 – ten people died after a Land Rover crashed onto a high-speed railway line and a train collided with it, before a second train hit the first.
- Sheppey Crossing crash – September 2013 – 130 vehicles collided in fog resulting in 68 people being injured
- Cardiff – March 2023 – three car occupants died and two were seriously hurt after a car left the road, crashed into trees and wasn’t discovered until 46 hours later
- Llanfrothen – November 2023 – four young adult males were killed after a car crashed and ended up in a ditch. The car wasn’t found for two days
The study also notes that other emergency alerting systems are now becoming commonplace including Google Car Crash Detection and Apple Crash Detection.
