Impacts of an automatic emergency call system on accident consequences

eCall is an automatic in-vehicle emergency call service developed in the European Union. The benefits of the eCall system are primarily based on the faster relaying of essential initial accident information, such as the type of accident and the precise accident location. The aim of this study was to estimate the impacts of an automatic emergency call system on accident consequences in Finland. The main results indicated that eCall could very probably have prevented 4.6% of the fatalities in accidents involving motor-vehicle occupants. The percentage was higher for accidents involving no vehicles in which the current eCall could be installed. This is probably because the emergency call delays were also longer in these accidents. The results of the case study, case study + phone log and questionnaire show that, in most accidents involving motor-vehicle occupants, the emergency call had been made less than five minutes after the accident. In 4% of the cases the emergency call had been made more than thirty minutes after the accident. For the covering abstract see ITRD E137489.