Coming soon, the clever cars that will call 999 in a crash

EVERY new vehicle sold in Britain within 18 months will automatically call 999 if it is involved in a crash.

Several luxury car makers already offer the eCall technology, which transmits the vehicle type and location after a crash.

But emergency services face a surge of such alerts when all cars and trucks are fitted with it.

Police say the technology will save lives and cut costs for the emergency services by providing accurate information as soon as a vehicle crashes.

But experts said the Government was ‘hopelessly behind the curve’ in preparing for it having ignored the compulsory EU legislation, which was passed in 2015 and must be in use by April 2018.

One warned there was a serious danger that vital calls could be ignored because few emergency control rooms were able to accept them.

the eCall system is designed to prevent tragedies such as the death of mother- of- two Lamara Bell, who lay alive but undiscovered for three days in her crashed car.

Miss Bell, 25, was critically injured – and her boyfriend John Yuill, 28, was killed – when their car left the M9 in Scotland in July last year.

Police failed to follow up a call about a car leaving the road, and only found them after a second tip- off. Miss Bell died four days later.

had their car been fitted with eCall, it would have automatically sent a transmission to the local 999 control centre, including the time and date of the crash, the GPS location of the vehicle, the direction it was travelling in, the type of vehicle, year of manufacture and the fuel it used.

the data is sent after sensors in the vehicle are triggered by the telltale signs of a crash, including extremely rapid deceleration and the deployment of airbags.

A button on the dashboard can also be used to send the information manually if it is pushed by an occupant or

‘It will save lives’

anyone first at the scene of an accident. Additional information that may eventually be added includes the number of passengers, as determined by the seatbelts in use.

heavy goods vehicles could also transmit the type of load they are carrying if it is haz- ardous or needs specialist recovery. Just days ago, two special police officers were sacked after drunkenly crashing a BMW and leaving the scene, only to be caught when colleagues were alerted by the car’s eCall system.

A senior traffic police officer accused the Government yesterday of being ‘ hopelessly behind the curve’ on the technology, adding: ‘ Various departments have buried their heads in the sand for some time. It is a good system which will undoubtedly save lives.’

Ian thompson, of the British Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, said: ‘the Government seems to have been slow to react to how it should be used in the United kingdom.

‘ Most emergency service control rooms are not ready for that information and there is a real danger it could be treated as a silent 999 call and get filtered out.

‘Brexit will make no difference. It has already been approved and is not something we can say, “We won’t bother now” – it is too late.

‘this is something that will have a major impact on emergencies on the road.’

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport denied ministers were ill-prepared.

he said: ‘ Government is working with mobile network operators, Ofcom and other stakeholders to make sure the infrastructure is in place to handle eCalls from October next year.’