Eurolink News

Road safety system is a ‘no-brainer’ says MEP (25th August 2009)

August 25, 2009 at 3:26 pm Leave a comment

Ireland could be forced to fit all cars with inbuilt emergency alert systems, if we fail to sign up to a major EU road safety initiative that should have been completed in 2006. The European Commission has warned the government that if no progress is made in rolling out the ‘eCall’ system by the end of this year, it could push through the measure with EU-wide legislation.
Ireland and five other EU countries are refusing to support the scheme over concerns that it would be too expensive. But figures from Brussels show that installing ‘eCall’ would cost less than €100 per vehicle, and would save a total of €26 billion and up to 2,500 lives across Europe each year.
‘Ultimately the balance sheet comes out in favour of the eCall system, which is a development of existing SatNav technology – it saves lives and money by automatically alerting the emergency services in the event of an accident,’ said Northwest MEP Jim Higgins. ‘This is particularly important in the event of single-car crash, when the driver or passenger may be unable to call for help themselves or to pinpoint their location. Time is of the essence after any collision.’
The Fine Gael MEP is writing a letter to Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and to the European Parliament to press for the immediate introduction of the eCall system. ‘Something has to be done to compel countries to bring in this scheme, as they don’t seem willing to implement it themselves,’ he said.

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