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2010
Awards

2010 - Peugeot Connect SOS
Automatic Emergency Call (eCall)
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Peugeot Connect SOS system is designed to connect the vehicle automatically with
an emergency call centre immediately following an accident. Crash sensors detect
when a car has been in an accident, based on vehicle decelerations and the firing
of pyrotechnic safety devices like airbags. If an accident is detected, Peugeot
Connect SOS first sends an SMS message to a Peugeot call centre, giving the precise
location at the time of impact and the last ten known positions of the vehicle
to establish the direction of travel. The system then establishes a voice connection
between the car and the call centre, allowing the vehicle’s occupants to communicate
with a trained operator. If the occupants of the car are unconscious or otherwise
unable to communicate, the call centre immediately notifies the emergency services
and provides information about the location of the accident. Otherwise, the operator
establishes the extent of the occupants’ injuries and decides whether or not the
emergency services should be notified.
Peugeot Connect SOS can be used in all parts of Europe where there is adequate
GSM coverage. Customers will be connected to a call centre in their home country
and will be able to communicate in their native language. If a mobile phone connection
cannot be established owing to insufficient GSM coverage, in most cases, the SMS
is still sent as that requires a much weaker signal.
Once Peugeot Connect SOS is bought, the service is free and remains operational
for the life of the vehicle. However, owners can choose to delocalize the system
if they are concerned about privacy. In such cases, Peugeot Connect SOS cannot
provide information about the location of the accident, and will dial the local
112 number.
Safety Benefit
In accidents which involve a fatality, around a third of mortalities occur within
the first ten minutes. Peugeot Connect SOS cannot help these people. However,
of the remaining two thirds, currently around half of the mortalities occur within
90 minutes of the accident and the other half at a time later than that. Peugeot
Connect SOS has the potential to assist these two groups by delivering faster
emergency assistance. While it is anticipated that Peugeot Connect SOS will benefit
low severity injuries, its primary focus is on severe and fatal injuries, especially
in remote areas. Broader use of mobile phones means that occupants who have only
minor injuries are increasingly able to notify the emergency services of the accident.
It is estimated by the European Commission that, if all cars were equipped with
an emergency call system, some 2500 lives could be saved every year in Europe
and the number of people severely injured reduced by 10-15 percent.
How the system assessed?
Several different crash test configurations were used to ensure that the Peugeot
Connect SOS hardware (sensors, control unit etc) were sufficiently robust to stand
up to severe impacts and that the system recognised the accident and notified
the call centre. The efficiency of the system at connecting to an available network
was established in areas where network coverage was low. Call centre staff are
routinely tested for their efficiency and knowledge to ensure that they can react
appropriately in case of an emergency call.
Limitations
Only Peugeot customers in some countries can choose the option when buying their
cars. Peugeot is working to try to broaden the availability, which depends, amongst
other things, on agreement of the local PSAPs (Public Service Answering Point)
to receive notifications from the manufacturer’s call centres.
The system relies on mobile network (GSM) coverage in order to be able to work.
Peugeot Connect SOS can roam and connect to any available network, unlike most
personal mobile phones. While most of Europe is served by at least one network
operator, there remain some areas where no such connection is possible. Such areas
are likely to be remote and poorly populated, precisely the sorts of areas where
an automatic emergency call system could provide the greatest benefit. Nevertheless,
it may be possible to send an SMS even when no phone connection can be established,
as text messaging requires much weaker network coverage.
Availability
Peugeot Connect SOS is rewarded for its availability on the Peugeot 308, the Peugeot
3008 and the Peugeot 5008, on which it offered as an option in the following countries:
France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg
and The Netherlands. Currently, it is unavailable elsewhere in Europe. The system
is also available on other cars tested by Euro NCAP, such as the Peugeot 207 and
Peugeot 207CC. The availability of optional equipment may vary from country to
country. In some countries, optional safety equipment may be available only when
combined with other features as part of a package, and may not be offered on all
variants. You should check with your dealer to see if the system is available
to you.
More
Awards From 2010
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