Life-saving car tech plan stalls

The EC has called on member states to buck up their ideas over eCall, the system which will transmit details about a car's whereabouts and its owner to emergency services in the event of an accident.

The Commission's plan aimed to have eCall in all vehicles by 2009 but the EC is now warning progress in some countries has stalled and governments are failing to invest in the necessary infrastructure.

The system, which would allow accident victims to automatically call the 112 pan-European emergency number and register their location with emergency services, has already been backed by 10 European Union countries including the most recent signatory Iceland. The EC is hoping thousands of lives will be saved as a result of eCall being deployed.

The eCall project has now adopted a new timetable to implement the technology from 2010 and member states have been given deadlines to deploy the necessary infrastructure.

The Commission has said it will start negotiations with the automotive industry to encourage them to install eCall tech into new cars voluntarily.

Brussels will also support the scheme with field tests and awareness campaigns as part of its intelligent car initiative.

EC commissioner Viviane Reding believes the rollout of eCall must be treated as a matter of urgency. "We have the technology. Now we need member states and industry to move up a gear and help us make Europe's roads safer sooner rather than later," she said in a statement.