EU eCall readiness warnings emerge as March deadline looms

Plans for a European-wide eCall initiative have been around for years, but now crunch time has arrived. As of 31 March 2018, all new vehicles in the European Union (EU) must come equipped with the system, which automatically dials the emergency number 112 (999 in the UK) in the event of a serious crash and communicates the vehicle's location. It is up to each Member State to organise its emergency services for the change, and the deadline for the deployment of supporting eCall infrastructure was 1 October 2017.