Skip to main content

FIA welcomes adoption of eCall legislation

The European Parliament has voted to adopt the eCall type-approval legislation, mandating emergency call technology as a standard feature in all new vehicles from 2018. Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Region I has welcomed the outcome, while also regretting the three-year delay in implementation. Thierry Willemarck, president of FIA Region I, said: “Road safety has triumphed today. eCall has finally passed through all the necessary steps and will become mandatory in 2018. However, I hope
April 29, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The European Parliament has voted to adopt the eCall type-approval legislation, mandating emergency call technology as a standard feature in all new vehicles from 2018. Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Region I has welcomed the outcome, while also regretting the three-year delay in implementation.

Thierry Willemarck, president of 8054 FIA Region I, said: “Road safety has triumphed today. eCall has finally passed through all the necessary steps and will become mandatory in 2018. However, I hope that this can serve as an example to the European Institutions in the lives lost while the negotiations continued. When there is a proven case for lives saved, technologies must be swiftly implemented. However, we are pleased to see that there is a possibility to empower consumers through the 1690 European Commission’s mandate to examine open, secure standardised platforms that could be a great step forward for future connected car services in an open and competitive market.”

Following a decade of negotiation, the final eCall legislation is a balanced outcome that includes a mandate to the Commission to consider interoperable, standardised, and secure and open‐access network for the eCall communication. This has the potential to ensure that users widely benefit from new connectivity features of their vehicles thanks to eCall. It can also ensure that consumers eventually make the best use of their personal data for additional connected car services.

In a positive step for the protection of consumer data, the legislation stipulates that eCall data gathered by emergency centres or their service partners must not be transferred to third parties without the explicit consent of the person concerned. Manufacturers will also have to ensure that the eCall technology design permits full and permanent deletion of data gathered.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • CES 2020: ITS does Vegas
    March 3, 2020
    Keen to find out what the future holds, 170,000 people gathered in Las Vegas for CES 2020 to see 20,000 product debuts and 4,400 exhibitors... and ITS International was there too (All images: CES®)
  • Using electricity to power road freight
    October 22, 2014
    Next year sees the start of the first real-life electrified road system for transporting freight. Worldwide freight transportation is predicted to double by 2050 but despite expansion of global rail infrastructure only one third of this additional freight transport can be handled by trains. This means that the largest proportion of freight transport will continue to be by road and as a result, experts expect global CO2 emissions from road freight traffic to more than double by 2050.
  • EU may challenge German road toll law
    June 2, 2015
    The European Commission will consider a legal challenge against Germany over the new road toll law, according to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Critics argue that the toll discriminates against foreigners. The European Commission's President Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung that the planned German road toll did not appear to conform to EU rules prohibiting discrimination against foreigners. "The Commission, the guardian of the EU treaties, now has to explore
  • Big wheels keep on turnin’
    August 21, 2018
    Many of the great and the good in the global mobility sector gathered at this year’s Movin’ On event in Montreal. Measured regulation of technologies and safety issues were major themes, reports David Arminas. *Bibendum is the original name for the Michelin Man, the symbol of the Michelin tyre company Autonomous vehicles, platooning, smart intersections and safety – these were the talking points over two-and-a-half days of the Movin’ On event in Montreal, Canada. Everyone in the mobility sector is at the