Most automated emergency calls from cars are false alarms

Telegraph

9 hours ago

Most calls from an EU-mandated emergency system fitted to British cars are false alarms, research has found.
Emergency calling systems – known as eCall – have been mandatory in all new cars since 2018.
When eCall is triggered, a vehicle calls 999 and provides the emergency services with information such as vehicle type and location.
The system is activated either automatically – such as when airbags are deployed – or manually by people in the car pressing a button often labelled 'SOS'.
It has been a requirement for most cars and vans sold in the UK to have the technology installed since April 2018 under EU rules. Although Britain has since left the EU, the legally binding rules remain in force.
Nick Reed, a transport expert who conducted a study for the RAC Foundation, found that more than 85 per cent of eCall alerts made last year were triggered manually.
About three quarters of that 85 per cent were false alarms, according to the research. This is compared with about one in three automatically made calls.
Taken together, about two thirds of all calls last year were false alarms.
Some 350,000 calls have been made since April 2018.
News that the EU-mandated technology is generating a large number of false alarms comes after a political row over new cars having to be fitted with EU breathalyser technology, as part of Labour's desire to copy Brussels' rules word-for-word to make life simpler and cheaper for car manufacturers.
Mr Reed's report found common causes of manual false alarms included 'button misuse, poor interface design, system faults and demonstration presses at dealerships'.
The academic listed several high-profile incidents where a significant difference is likely to have been made if eCall was available.
One was the Selby train crash of 2001, which left 10 people dead when a Land Rover careered off the M62 motorway in North Yorkshire and came to a standstill on train tracks.
A train derailed when it struck the vehicle, and then a second train hit the first.
The report stated that eCall could provide emergency services with 'better information more quickly' when a vehicle breaks down in a live lane on a smart motorway without a hard shoulder, compared with stopped vehicle detection systems, which rely on radar technology.
The author recommended that more of the information provided by eCall should be passed on to organisations such as National Highways.
He also warned that owners of up to four million cars and vans fitted with early versions of eCall could find themselves with systems that do not work because they rely on 2G and 3G mobile phone networks, which are in the process of being switched off by mobile phone networks.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said eCall was 'a great idea' and could be 'particularly useful in remote areas where no other road users are on hand to dial 999'.
He went on: '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.'
Mr Reed said: 'The case for accelerating the emergency response to road crashes through the eCall alert system is clear.
'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.'