Automotive OEMs have been working on extensions to the safety benefits of the EU’s eCall automatic emergency alert system since well before it became mandatory for cars and light vans on 31 March 2018. The objective is to reduce the time taken for emergency services to respond to accidents and therefore increase survival rates, with evidence from some studies it can cut fatalities by up to 10% as a result of life support actions being taken earlier. The difference can be much greater than this for accidents in remote areas where occupants may be trapped in their vehicles for much longer before being found by a passerby. Correspondingly the European Commission has set targets to reduce emergency response time by…