eCall

[Compromise 1]

The European Union is pushing forward with plans to introduce a new in car safety system which could be become compulsory by 2009 to be put in all cars sold in the EU.

This new system called eCall and is basically a new system that will call the emergency services automatically if there is a accident including information on its location and severity. The car occupants can also call the emergency services manually if eCall fails as well as talk to a control room.

eCall has the potential to dramatically increase response times to accidents and so lower the road fatality rate. Here is a picture (credits to Times Newspaper Online) on how the system works...



What do you think? I think its a great idea and may save lives although it will add a bit to the price of cars but I think its worth it.

[Meg 368]

Interesting concept.  I wonder how it will work in RL.

For instance, would the side collision sensor go off if the car was parking in a grocery store parking lot and it was hit by a runaway shopping cart?  (well, they are called trolleys in England but they still roll downhill.)  

And it sounds like it is putting GPS sensors in all cars.  Kinda like the lo-jack system in the US but I could see people fussing about it being mandatory.   If things are at the point where the police could locate any car at any time, it's bound to start up the Big Brother conversation again.

[villarule 2]

with all the savings and stuff it seems like a no brainer

[Compromise 1]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek Interesting concept.  I wonder how it will work in RL.

For instance, would the side collision sensor go off if the car was parking in a grocery store parking lot and it was hit by a runaway shopping cart?  (well, they are called trolleys in England but they still roll downhill.)  quote>

Fortunately it requires two sensors to go off to alert the emergency services to avoid false alarms.

If things are at the point where the police could locate any car at any time, it's bound to start up the Big Brother conversation again.quote>

Yes that could be a problem. The system isn't designed for spying but it could possibley be used for this.

[nealos101 20]

I wouldn't say no to it if it would save my life - The whole Big Brother issue does not concen me, I am a legal driver and follow all the laws (I hope anyway), but then if they come up to me and ask me why I was at this location and that location... For no apparent reason...

Yeah, that is an issue...

[hym 358]

This sounds a lot like a concept that I thought of several years ago.  In addition to all of the above features, the vehicle in question would be able to link up with other vehicles on the road or highway, alert them to potential danger (like a possible accident ahead), or ask for help in case of vehicle trouble  (the system would act like one big neural net AI with all of the cars working together for mutual safety of all drivers).

[thesonofgray 0]

I don't know.  With what I know about car accidents (in the U.S.), I wouldn't really entirely support this. 

I'm currently studying in Transportation Engineering and, while the field is more in the study of roads and the impact of the road on saftey, I have looked at many accident statistics (in the U.S.).  The large majority of them occur in dense or at least semi-dense areas.  Which means there are almost always witnesses to the accident and therefore a reliable source to contact the authorities if the involved are incapacitated.

I would much rather governments use research funds to make the car and the car/road relationship safer in preventing accidents or reducing the damage of an inevitable crash.  I don't oppose this eCall concept but I wouldn't support it if research funds are diverted from saftey research (which is bound to happen since new funds don't just appear out of nowhere).

I also agree with SkiGeek with the occurance of day to day events.  When I was in high school my dad (at 7am in the morning) backed into my car and put a major dent in multiple panels making it appear my car was in a fairly bad accident (we have a long driveway and he was late for work...and really tired).  So fire/rescue would be racing to get to my house while I am soundly sleeping in my room (until my dad comes in cursing ).  False calls and dispatches are a big problem in the U.S. and it would just make it worse.  I don't know about the EU, though.

I do like hym's idea with nearby cars linked up to each other.  There are a lot of potential applications for something like that

Edit:  I know how researchers get the statistics like those under "Annual Benefits" and they are very arbitrary.  It is extremely difficult to model human behavior (as any statistician will tell you) and they are usually only shown to add fuel to the support (or opposition) for the proposal.  But that's just my take on the whole thing.

[callagrafx 3]

Now that's more like it...I also hope the germans finally get the anti-collision systems working properly too.

[hym 358]

@thesonofgray:  The first solution to solving accidents is getting people to realize that they are navigating a 1-2 ton metal block that has momentum and will transfer that tremendous amount of energy into anything it hits.  In other words, respect the fact that you could easily kill yourself or someone else if you crash.  The second task is to ensure that the roads aren't a hazard themselves and that they are designed to facilitate the traffic flow they were meant to handle.  Houston just recently finished redesigning the interchange at Loop 610 and Highway 59.  Traffic congestion was a major problem before the redesign.  The redesign didn't change the traffic congestion (there isn't the room necessary to do that), but the redesign did make the congestion flow smoother.  The result is just as much traffic congestion but it flows smoother, which means less time lost and fewer accidents.

If the vehicle wasn't running, the odds are good that the sensors would be turned off to conserve battery power.  Auto manufacturers are already having enough trouble controlling the amount of electricity that the car's electronics system uses; they wouldn't want to add to the problem.  Also, if the sensor system was configured properly, then fire/rescue wouldn't have come to respond to an accident that occurred to a park, non-running car (it's simply a matter of the vehicle being smart enough to realize when it needs to alert authorities).

@callagrafx:  Like I mentioned earlier, anti-collision systems are proving to be a major pain.  There is the problem of power-hungry sensors draining the battery, random deceleration if a failing sensor thinks there is a car ahead of you that is stopping, and many other problems.  Moral of the story:  One day, the auto makers will figure out how to make a useful accident-prevention system; until then, the fate of you and those driving on the highway around you rests with you.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Sounds a lot like GM's On-Star system.  It has optional subscriptions to various features including cell contact.  The whole business sounds very much like marine VHF radio with an automatic May-Day caller.

In the excited states, the cost vs. loss of life may be prohibitive, but in Canada, where we are very spread out, lives could easily be saved.  We have had many instances of people disappearing in their cars to be found dead days, weeks, months or years later.

[Firebird 40]

It looks like it could save lives. It (hopefully)is reasonably costing. It looks like it is well thought over. And, it might save lives. Hmm...., ok, yes I go for it.

[Duke87 1,070]

The system is a great idea. However, it should not be mandatory. It shoud be up to the car companies whether or not they make it standard or part of a higher package.

[Compromise 1]

Originally posted by: Duke87 The system is a great idea. However, it should not be mandatory. It shoud be up to the car companies whether or not they make it standard or part of a higher package.

quote>

 

There is a very large argument for it not to be mandatory and that people should be allowed to choose there own level of safety as well as the price of the car. On the other hand though people say few people would have eCall if it wasn't mandatory making the idea less viable and it would be unfair on other road users.

[Tarkus 6,932]

Well, it shouldn't be something that is always linked to the emergency services, but rather, only link when the vehicle gets in a wreck.  I don't think in terms of Big-Brotheritude that its nearly as bad as the GPS trackers that several Western US states want to require on vehicles as part of the "mileage tax" plan.  That scares me a lot more.