A
delegation from the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology
"ESMA”, visited the BMW Group to attend the factory tests of vehicles
equipped with the emergency call system, planned for production and importing
into UAE market starting from 2021 models.
The
Authority’s delegation attended several vehicle crush tests, simulated
activating the emergency communication system, when the accident occurred as a
result of the resulting collision, and the communication mechanism between the
vehicle and the emergency response operations center of the response and rescue
bodies, in a manner that reduces the response time to accidents to rescue the
injured passengers and ensures the saving of lives.
The
emergency communication system “E-Call” for
vehicles to be applied in the UAE is a unique system and is the first of its
kind at the level of the Gulf region and the Middle East and North Africa in
accordance with the requirements of the UAE standard.
The
technical regulations for the emergency call system in vehicles according to
the UAE.S 5019: 2018 prepared by Emirates Authority for Standardization and
Metrology "ESMA”, issued by the UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 13 of 2018.
H.E.
Abdulla Al-Maeeni, ESMA Director General, said that the development of E-Call
Standard for the vehicles imported to UAE is accomplished in coordination with
the partners of ESMA, such as the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, and
the police and traffic authorities in the UAE.
This
system is introduced based on the ESMA’s efforts and contributions towards
achieving the goals of the National Agenda 2021, especially in the Safe Society
Index, and its associated reduction in traffic accidents to the lowest possible
limits, in a manner that raises the quality of life indicators in the UAE.
He
added that the technical regulation is one of the contributions of the Emirates
Authority for Standardization and Metrology "ESMA", within the vision
launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President
and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Among
which "that the Emirates be the safest spot in the world responding to all
emergency calls within only 4 minutes as target, "considering that there
are a number of innovative solutions that have been used, in cooperation with
the authority's strategic partners.
As
part of the benchmarking program, ESMA delegation visited the BMW Self-Driving
Vehicle Research Center as part of their benchmark program and exchanged the
knowledge of the Autonomous Driving System (ADS), to share the technical
knowledge in light of UAE efforts in developing ADS Technical requirements and
BMW Group efforts and development on this regard.
It
is worth mentioning that the E-Call system works in two ways, either
automatically when the vehicle driver is exposed to an accident resulting in
driver inability to communicate with response parties such as ambulance, police
and civil defense, or manually when the vehicle driver is in a situation in
which the driver can communicate directly with the concerned authorities to
request assistance. This is undoubtedly will enable the Country to save lives
and reduce the number of fatalities resulting from traffic accidents through
response time and reaching the accident location in a possible shorter time.