German Road Safety Day: How Bosch eCall saves lives

Frankfurt – Fast assistance is crucial when a car accident occurs. "Emergency Calls" - known as eCalls for short - are of enormous advantage when rescue is needed. In the event of an accident or emergency, the emergency call system for vehicles establishes a voice connection to an emergency call point to request assistance either automatically or at the push of a button. The statutory eCall system, known as EU 112 eCall, differs from the emergency call systems from private providers. EU 112 eCall are routed directly to the public rescue coordination centers, which then mobilize the rescue services. Private eCall providers process incoming emergency calls in their emergency centers and forward emergency calls to the public rescue coordination centers. EU 112 eCall is installed as standard in all new car models launched in the EU for the first time since March 31, 2018. Bosch has been offering its private eCall service since 2012 and is a pioneer in this area, so that by now more than ten car manufacturers now trust the company to handle their emergency calls. Bosch eCall not only meets the relevant EU standards and all applicable data protection requirements, but also offers five times more service and security.

1. Bosch eCall goes above and beyond statutory requirements

In order to provide fast, effective assistance in the event of a car accident, it is important that the rescue coordination center receives all key information to enable it to assess the accident. This enables it to dispatch the right number of rescue workers and, in the best-case scenario, to give these workers an idea of what to expect at the scene of the accident. That's why Bosch eCall delivers more information than the EU 112 eCall, which is limited to the so-called minimum data set. This comprises the geographical position, the time of the accident, the direction of travel and the fuel type used by the accident vehicle. However, Bosch delivers additional information, such as the number of occupants and the severity of the accident. This helps the coordination center and the rescue teams to better assess the accident situation, enabling a tailored response to the respective accident situation. For example, in the event of an accident involving four occupants more ambulances can be dispatched to the scene of the accident. This optimizes the rescue chain.

2. Bosch answers eCalls in the driver's own language

Bosch eCall has one major advantage when traveling: in the event of an accident abroad, the driver will receive communications in his own language at all times as soon as eCall has been activated. It is invaluable for the casualties, who are often in shock, to be able to provide details of the accident in the language they are most familiar with. The local rescue coordination center then receives precise information in the local language from the team at the Bosch emergency center, so that it can mobilize the appropriate assistance for the situation. Unlike EU 112 eCall, Bosch eCall is available in 18 languages and more than 50 countries.

3. Bosch handles eCalls quickly around the clock

The Bosch eCall is available around the clock seven days per week and thus complies with EU regulation EN 16102. This stipulates that eCall service providers must be demonstrably reachable 99 percent of the time. Legislators also stipulate how quickly emergency calls must be answered by the emergency center. Bosch exceeds the required standards and answers calls in less than ten seconds on average - about five seconds faster than required.

4. Bosch relieves the pressure on public rescue coordination centers

In 2019, Bosch processed around 1.2 million eCalls worldwide, including 90 percent false alarms. This happens for instance when drivers accidentally press the SOS button, triggering eCall. However, false alarms in particular take a lot of time to process - time that the public emergency services do not have. Providers like Bosch provide relief here, filtering out false alarms before qualified accident calls are passed on: in 2019 alone, there were over a million mistaken calls. Bosch thus only passes genuine emergencies to the rescue coordination centers.

5. Bosch eCall observes strict data protection regulations

Bosch also meets all requirements from a data protection perspective. The data that is transmitted to the Bosch emergency center or public rescue coordination center is precisely defined: in addition to the minimum data set, the system only transmits information that is important in assessing the accident situation, e.g. the number of people in the car.