“CLEPA welcomes the agreement between Parliament and Council on mandatory equipping of new models of passengers cars and commercial vehicles from March 2018. This date is in line with the provisions related to the infrastructure to be put in place by Member States and the required compatibility with services provided by the Galileo and EGNOS programs”, said Mr Paul Schockmel, CLEPA CEO.
The European Commission will also assess whether the system should be extended to other vehicles like buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles.
The “eCall” system automatically dials 112 – Europe’s single emergency number – in the event of a serious accident. It communicates the vehicle’s location to emergency services, even if the driver is unconscious or unable to make a phone call. It is estimated that it could save up to 2500 lives a year.
CLEPA supports the integrated approach with actions on infrastructure, vehicle and driver behavior as the way forward to improve road safety. The automotive suppliers invest €18 billion per year in RDI and produce by far most of the equipment that save lives.
Legislators have introduced in the text the possibility for the Commission to assess, if appropriate and no later than two years after the entry into force of the Regulation, the need of requirements for an interoperable, standardized, secure and open access platform following a broad consultation with all relevant stakeholders and a study on the analysis of the costs and benefits.
“We are pleased to acknowledge this development. The in-vehicle eCall architecture should be open for implementation of additional services and applications. A non-discriminatory access by independent operators should be granted, provided that security and reliability are ensured. This will allow consumers freedom of choice”, stressed Mr Schockmel, CLEPA CEO.
