BMW has always been at the forefront of safety, both on four wheels and two and recently for the first time from any manufacturer, BMW is offering integrated emergency response systems into a bike. The system has proved so beneficial in its use in Europe since 1999 that it will be mandatory in all new cars from 2018. The system has been modified slightly to better recognize critical incidents for motorcycle riders so that the system isn’t activated should you drop your bike embarrassingly while parking in front of school children.
In the case of an accident, a vehicle-integrated eCall system can make the difference between life and death. As already shown in 2011 as part of a pan-European eCall trial involving BMW vehicles, emergency services were able to respond more quickly and get to the scene of the accident 40 to 50% faster. The European Commission in charge of the trial at the time, estimated that using an eCall system would save up to 2,500 lives every year also saving € 26 billion in the process.
eCall was used for the first time in BMW automobiles in 1999 in Europe. In 2007, the BMW Group extended this safety system by establishing an intelligent and cross-border call center infrastructure. From 2018, eCall will become mandatory for all new cars. Thanks to the synergy effects with BMW Automobiles the system is expected to be available for the first time in a BMW motorcycle ex works as an option from beginning of 2017.
In the case of an emergency or an accident, the intelligent eCall system, which is either automatically or manually triggered, sends out the position data, i.e. the coordinates of the motorcycle accident site, to the qualified BMW Call Center to initiate the rescue chain. The current position as well as information for determining the direction of travel are transmitted to simplify locating the motorcyclist in hard-to-find locations such as motorway junctions.
eCall requires a connection to the mobile phone network in order to trigger the rescue chain. In the “intelligent emergency call” option, the connection is established via the permanently installed mobile communication unit. For the connection no specific mobile operator is required. All that is necessary is at least one operational mobile provider.
