At Location World, we firmly believe in the importance of applying telematics to vehicles to increase the efficiency of operations and reduce costs. However, today we would like to talk about another benefit of connecting vehicles to the Internet, saving lives in traffic accidents.
Connected cars are those capable of transmitting and receiving information through the Internet. This allows them to communicate with other vehicles, with the driver or with the fleet manager. This type of communication has multiple applications. For example, if a company has a fleet of 40 trucks, it can assign the routes to each vehicle in a way that optimizes each kilometer traveled or know the exact position of each unit in real time.
In the case of road safety, telematics is a great ally since the connected car technology allows to issue an emergency call in case of an accident to receive roadside assistance.
In fact, Europe already has a new legislation that requires all new vehicles to have an emergency SOS button called eCall that allows the driver or passengers to request assistance in the event of an accident.
When a traffic accident occurs, time is the key factor to reduce risk of death. According to a study, the survival rate of a traffic accident victim increases up to 40% if emergency personnel arrives only four minutes earlier.
How to achieve shorter times in assistance arrival?
As mentioned above, the time it takes to get medical assistance in the event of a traffic accident, is key to increasing the chance of survival for the victims. Ford and Vodafone have carried out a campaign to explain how telematics and connected car can help save lives.
Both companies are collaborating to develop a technology capable of alerting drivers that are on the road if there has been an accident through eCall. It alerts that a medical assistance vehicle is approaching and asks them to create an emergency corridor. This technology also allows drivers to be informed about the exact position of the emergency vehicle and its distance so that they can react in time.
What to do if an ambulance approaches you?
Although this is a practice that every driver must perform out of respect to an emergency service, many drivers simply do not know how to move or in what direction they should move.
Well, if you are on a road with two lanes in the same direction, the emergency vehicle should pass between both lanes so vehicles on the right should move as far to the right possible, and those on the left must do the same to the left. If you are on a highway with three lanes, the emergency lane should be created between the lane on the left and the middle, so vehicles must move and leave enough space in this area of the road.
“When cars communicate with each other, the rescue teams get an unhindered space that allows them to advance in situations where every second counts”, explains Hannes Ametsreiter, CEO of Vodafone Germany.
Below we show a video that explains how this technology works.
Having you’re a connected car has many advantages from the point of view of efficiency and security. From Location World we encourage you to meet CarSync Drive, a satellite tracking service designed for privately-owned vehicles. This solution connects your vehicle and allows passengers to always be protected.
To learn a little more of what this service offers you, please watch the following explanatory video. We encourage you to contact us with any concern. Feel free to reach out to us via chat, which you will find in the lower right corner of your screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpQ0ERvy2OE