New cars and vans will be fitted with SOS black box from 2018 as EU approves rules despite Big Brother fears

  • Device will contact emergency service centre in event of crash
  • EU estimates it will cost £90 per car and cut road deaths by 10%
  • But critics not convinced 'Big Brother' boxes protect drivers' privacy 

All new cars and vans in Britain and Europe will have to be fitted with automatic 'SOS' black boxes within three years, the EU has ruled. 

The emergency calling devices will be mandatory from April 2018 under new rules approved by European Union lawmakers on Tuesday – despite opposition from the UK's Conservative led Government on grounds of cost. 

Critics also fear that the system smacks of 'Big Brother' and are not convinced that drivers' privacy will be adequately safe-guarded by the new 'spy in the cab' from Brussels.

Black box: The devices will alert the nearest emergency centre in the event of a crash

Black box: The devices will alert the nearest emergency centre in the event of a crash

But EU road safety experts claim it could cut road deaths by 10 per cent a year. The so-called eCall device will automatically alert the nearest emergency centre in the event of a crash by calling the EU-wide emergency number 112 – the equivalent of the UK's '999' - even if the occupants are in no state to dial for help themselves. 

This will give authorities information such as the exact location and time of the crash and the number of passengers in the vehicle. 

The system is designed to automatically transmit accident details - the time of the incident, the position of the crash and the direction of travel, which could be crucial for accidents on motorways or in tunnels. 

The Commission has estimated the cost of installing the system at less than £90 per car.

Some car-firms, such as Vauxhall's parent company General Motors, already offer such services as part of a wider package.

Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg approved the law on Tuesday. It means car manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Volvo would have to ensure all passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are fitted with the devices by March 31, 2018.

The vote was welcomed by the motor industry.

Erik Jonnaert, secretary general of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association which includes companies such as BMW, Fiat and Daimler said: 'This decision brings Europe one step closer to making operational a system which we have been advocating since 2004.' 

Claire Perry: The Conservative Transport Minister refused to support measure

Claire Perry: The Conservative Transport Minister refused to support measure

Road accidents killed 25,700 people in the EU last year.

The European Commission, which proposed the law, estimates that the emergency response time will halve in the countryside and fall 60 per cent in urban areas. 

People would also be able to make an eCall by pushing a button inside the car, giving witnesses a chance to report accidents.

The devices will not track vehicles outside emergencies and authorities will not be able to transfer the data to third parties without the explicit consent of the person concerned.

But some members of the European Parliament said the proposal did not go far enough to protect drivers' privacy and did nothing to prevent accidents.

Vicky Ford, a Conservative MEP said: 'Just putting in the infrastructure for this would eat up a huge chunk of the road safety budget, yet it will not prevent a single crash.' 

The UK government had objected to the plans saying the cost of '£370-odd million' would far outweigh the benefits.

In December Conservative Transport Minister Claire Perry said the Government did not support the measure noting: 'According to our analysis, the benefit of making [eCall] mandatory in all new cars does not justify the cost of implementing it.

'I believe it was something like £370-odd million. There was a view that, given the increasing responsiveness of our road network... we did not feel that it was appropriate for the UK.' 

'But the Automobile Association welcomed the decision and said it could 'save lives across Europe'.

AA head of roads policy Paul Watters said the Government will need to 'have its act together' to make sure our emergency services are ready for the new system.

He said: 'The question is whether it will automatically dispatch the appropriate emergency services. The supporting infrastructure would need to be in place to make sure that it works.'

He said the devices will be of greater benefit in less 'congested' European countries, where unseen accidents in remote areas are far more likely, noting: 'The benefits to the UK are probably less than other larger, more spaced out countries.

'We have fewer remote places where somebody could be incapacitated in a car, where it would save someone's life.'

Three years after the launch, the Commission will assess whether eCall devices should also be fitted onto buses, coaches and trucks.

 

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