​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.