SOS function in European cars since 2018
All passenger cars and light commercial vehicles placed on the market in the EU after 1 April 2018 must have the eCall system. This ensures that emergency services can respond more quickly to accidents in traffic. eCall is an automatic system for calling emergency services, such as ambulance and fire brigade. In 2012, the first proposal for this was already made in the EU, but it initially encountered privacy concerns. However, in 2015, the European Parliament voted in favor of introducing the EU-wide eCall system. This free system connects directly to the 112 exchange in the Netherlands. In other European countries it works in an identical way.
For privacy reasons, the system only shares the most basic information about the accident, such as vehicle type, fuel type, time of the accident, exact location and the number of passengers involved. The eCall system can also detect the force of the collision and whether the airbags have deployed. According to the European Commission, the cost of eCall is approximately €100 per car. By combining data from all vehicles involved, emergency services can better estimate the extent and seriousness of an accident. The system also helps overcome language barriers, as the information is passed on automatically and people don't have to tell them in a foreign language what happened and where they are exactly.
How eCall works
After an accident, eCall automatically sends a notification to the emergency center and passes on:
- the exact location of the accident;
- the direction of travel;< /li>
- number of occupants;
- vehicle type;
- fuel type.
This data is not stored or used for other purposes. eCall therefore takes privacy into account. The system only sees where you are and in which direction you are driving after the accident (or pressing the emergency button). If there is no accident situation, eCall cannot track your car.
There are two variants of eCall:
- Pan European eCall: a free system that connects directly to the 112 central. All passenger cars and light commercial vehicles that came on the market after April 1, 2018 must have this system on board.
- Third Party Service (TPS) eCall: These are emergency call systems from car manufacturers. The emergency call goes to the emergency center of the car brand, after which the emergency services are called in if necessary.
Example of an eCall call
On March 6, 2020, a car ran off the road on the A2 near Amsterdam in the middle of the night. The car was equipped with eCall. The driver was trapped and unable to call 911. The car itself made contact with the emergency services via eCall, which enabled them to take action. Otherwise the chance would have been slim that the man would have been found in time. This was the very first eCall promotion that the Amsterdam-Amstelland received.
Crash detection and Apple
If your car doesn't have an eCall yet, you can use ‘peace of mind’ buy with one of the new products announced for this fall. Crash detection is on all devices from the iPhone 14 series and on all Apple Watch models from the fall, including the Apple Watch SE 2022. By only buying a new Apple Watch, you are already protected.
See also 
Crash detection on the Apple Watch and iPhone: how it works
Apple introduced a new feature in 2022: crash detection. This is a new safety feature on the iPhone and Apple Watch that you will hopefully never need.
Apple Watch SE 2022 in 44mm, GPS
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