In-car emergency calling to be standard in new cars by April 2018

[HEXUS]

Regulation to make eCall systems standard equipment approved by EU to save lives.

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[Ksyruz]

Oh kids are going to love pushing that button when they see it

[LSG501]

yay... all new cars in 2018 will have gps and built in mobile technology which we likely don't control.... so free tracking of every car with it, theoretically they'll be able to monitor location, speed, who was in the car if tied in to some other sensors (some cars adjust seats already by weight etc) and upload it without us knowing. (Yes I know you can likely do all this now but it's harder without built in sim)

They say it's dormant until needed.... oh yes of course we believe the governments, they've never monitored people without permission...

Saracen will love this lol

[Saracen]

...

Saracen will love this lol

Indeed. Furtunately, I have wirecutters.

In all seriousness, that WOULD be enough to stop me buying a new car equipped with this, and if they all have it, it'll stop me buying a new car at all, unless it's either a delete option or user-removable.

Looks like my days of new cars might be numbered. Oh well, it'll save me shedloads of wedge, I guess.

[crossy]

Am I missing something or does someone have to put a SIM in this setup? In which case can't we just pull the SIM? And who pays for that SIM, the car owner, the manufacturer?

Hate to disappoint the "no track" folks but I strongly suspect that the MOT will introduce a test for eCall, so if you snip it then you've got an unroadworthy car.

Personally I can't see the upside of this at all - if you want that functionality then by all means make it a low-cost option for everyone. In which case all the EU Parli had to do was force manufacturers to offer it on all models. Forcing everyone to have it as standard sounds a tad heavy handed.

I despair of politicians sometimes ... actually I'm fibbing, I despair of them all the time.

[DanceswithUnix]

Am I missing something or does someone have to put a SIM in this setup? In which case can't we just pull the SIM? And who pays for that SIM, the car owner, the manufacturer?

Hate to disappoint the "no track" folks but I strongly suspect that the MOT will introduce a test for eCall, so if you snip it then you've got an unroadworthy car.

Personally I can't see the upside of this at all - if you want that functionality then by all means make it a low-cost option for everyone. In which case all the EU Parli had to do was force manufacturers to offer it on all models. Forcing everyone to have it as standard sounds a tad heavy handed.

I despair of politicians sometimes ... actually I'm fibbing, I despair of them all the time.

I know the Alfa Connect system that was an option on my old 147 doesn't require a sim to dial out in emergency, apparently 112 doesn't need one which makes sense if the call is guaranteed free.

I made sure my car didn't come with the Connect functionality.

[Saracen]

....

Hate to disappoint the "no track" folks but I strongly suspect that the MOT will introduce a test for eCall, so if you snip it then you've got an unroadworthy car.

...

Okay, for the pendants out there (which is a case of kettle calling pot black, if ever there were) :-

Step 1) Preparatory Phase

a) Get wirecutters, soldering iron and inline fuse-holder
b) Insert fuseholder in power line

Step 2) MOT preparation

a) insert fuse
b) Get MOT
c) remove fuse.

Or some-such variant depending on exact design.

[DanceswithUnix]

The way things are integrated in modern car designs, I can see this being part of the radio/CD/BlueTooth streaming/satnav/phone/climate control system, so if you snip this out all sorts of things fail.

[peterb]

I'd expect it to have some sort of built in battery backup so it still functions if the crash or accident causes loss of battery power to the unit.

[Ttaskmaster]

In all seriousness, that WOULD be enough to stop me buying a new car equipped with this

New cars all suck anyway and I can barely tell one from another, these days. They all look the same.
Old cars are where it's at - Get me a Capri or a Mk3 Supra any day!!

[Saracen]

The way things are integrated in modern car designs, I can see this being part of the radio/CD/BlueTooth streaming/satnav/phone/climate control system, so if you snip this out all sorts of things fail.

Probably true.

But going through that, I don't want built-in SatNav, for several reasons, one of which is that it tends to be overpriced, under-featured, and expensive to update. Another is that I only want SatNav in the car when I need it, because it certainly can't record/monitir where I've been if it isn't in the car. So, not bothered about that. And it can't possibly report back to someone, and/or be inrerrogated, if it doesn't have the data.

Next, car bluetooth. Well, no smartphone, so that's minimal use.

Climate control? Don't want it, and that might also be a reason not to buy a new car. I had that argument with a BMW dealer years ago. I was contemplating replacing the M3 and a major reason for not doing so was aircon came as standard. They'd stuck about £6k on the price, included aircon and a couple of other bits as standard and the idiot salesman actually told me it was "free", so what was my problem? That cost that dealer a customer right there, right then.

Which brings me to "radio". Well, typically, about the first thing I do with a new car is have a high-end aftermarket audio system, configured and designed for MY tastes, fitted. Last time it cost me about £3k, though that was ages ago. Since then, I just move it car to car.

So, my very firm preference is to buy a car without any "radio", or speakers, etc, fitted in the first place.

That said, the other option, if such a system isn't removable, is to simply not buy a new car in the first place. Or, buy one just before this comes in, and then keep it indefinitely. If I buy a car I like, I'm quite happy to keep it 20 or 30 years. Wouldn't even be the first time.

[Saracen]

New cars all suck anyway and I can barely tell one from another, these days. They all look the same.
Old cars are where it's at - Get me a Capri or a Mk3 Supra any day!!

In principle, agreed. In choice of cars, I'm about Capri'd out, after a 3litre Ghia, and three 2.8i's.

Supra? Not bad, but probably not my first choice.

[peterb]

But in practice, ANPR systems track where you are anyway. Most motorways, A roads and town centres have cameras in them, which can recognise plates. That data base links to the driver database, so if a car registered to you, and you are banned, that will be flagged so expect to be stopped sometime soon.

As for this system, if I have an accident at 3 am in a deserted country lane where the next passer by might not be for several hours, do I want to lie there maybe with some slow internal bleeding for a few hours, or have an automatic alert to the emergency services to get me to a hospital as quickly as possible?

[abaxas]

Okay, for the pendants out there (which is a case of kettle calling pot black, if ever there were) :-

Step 1) Preparatory Phase

a) Get wirecutters, soldering iron and inline fuse-holder
b) Insert fuseholder in power line

Step 2) MOT preparation

a) insert fuse
b) Get MOT
c) remove fuse.

Or some-such variant depending on exact design.

Only issue is with insurance. Expect your life to be ruined if you get caught doing that.

[DDY]

Only issue is with insurance. Expect your life to be ruined if you get caught doing that.

Fuses can sometimes pop for no apparent reason

[DanceswithUnix]

Climate control? Don't want it, and that might also be a reason not to buy a new car. I had that argument with a BMW dealer years ago. I was contemplating replacing the M3 and a major reason for not doing so was aircon came as standard. They'd stuck about £6k on the price, included aircon and a couple of other bits as standard and the idiot salesman actually told me it was "free", so what was my problem? That cost that dealer a customer right there, right then.

I find that odd, basic aircon is just something waiting to go wrong, but climate control is nice. You buy a car, you tell it you want in my case 22 degrees, and then you never touch the controls again. If the air is humid, it can strip water out of the air to clear the windows far better than heat, and I don't miss the constant faffing about with heater controls from the cars of my youth. Lovely. Mind you, if I want old school heater controls I have my kit car which just has an air scoop that throws air in your face (and flies) and laughably inadequate heating in true 70's reproduction style

My wife has an Alfa GT V6 for these sorts of reasons though. You can't get that engine any more, there may never be another like it. Most of the modern safety and economy features that take control away from the driver just aren't present, so as you say she is quite happy to keep it for 20 to 30 years on top of the 5 or so she has already had it.