Emergency corridor and automatic emergency call system – eCall

At a press conference on January 19, 2016, the Minister of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, François Bausch, and the Minister of the Interior, Dan Kersch, presented the "Emergency Corridor" information campaign.

The initiative aims to inform the general public about the measures to take in the event of a traffic jam, in order to allow emergency and breakdown vehicles to pass freely.

This campaign was initiated by the two ministries, in collaboration with:

• l'Administration des services de secours (ASS)
• l'Administration des ponts et chaussées (PCH)
• la Sécurité routière a.s.b.l.
• la Police grand-ducale (PGD)
• l’Automobile club du Luxembourg (ACL)
• la Fédération des garagistes (Fegarlux)
• l’Association des distributeurs automobiles luxembourgeois (ADAL)
• le Centre de formation pour conducteurs à Colmar-Berg (CFC)
  
• et la Société nationale de contrôle technique (SNCT)

"Leave the way clear to save lives"—a relevant message intended as a call for civility and thus to help save lives.

In the event of an accident, every minute, every second counts and can decide life or death. In the event of a traffic jam, emergency services must first clear a path between blocked lanes or attempt to move onto the hard shoulder—precious time is lost!

By creating an emergency lane between traffic lanes, you allow emergency services to pass. Emergency vehicles arrive at the scene faster, injured people are treated more quickly, clearing operations can begin sooner, and traffic jams are cleared more easily.

At the first sign of traffic slowdown, create an emergency lane and allow emergency vehicles to pass freely.

Campaign materials

• 50,000 leaflets distributed by partners;
• 45 road signs across the national network;
• full back displays on 15 buses in the RGTR network;
• stickers on emergency and breakdown vehicles;
• press advertisements (national coverage);
• signage on 27 parking elevators as well as at the MDDI, Ministry of the Interior, and ASS;
• web and mobile banners (national and border coverage);
• messages displayed on CITA motorway displays;
• traffic information on radio: reminders in case of traffic jams.

eCall: automatic emergency call system in the event of a road accident

On March 2, 2015, the Council of the European Union adopted its position on type-approval requirements for the installation of eCall devices in new motor vehicles.

The EU-wide eCall system is designed to speed up the response of emergency services in the event of a road accident.

New vehicles will be required to be equipped with wireless devices that will automatically trigger a call to the 112 emergency number.

The eCall system will help reduce the number of people injured and killed in road accidents in the European Union.

The new system is expected to halve emergency response times, saving lives and allowing for faster treatment of injuries.

Implementation

Starting March 31, 2018, car manufacturers will be required to equip all new models with on-board technology that communicates with the interoperable eCall service based on the 112 number.

The infrastructure for the eCall system should be in place by October 1, 2017. All consumers will be able to use it free of charge.

Remote access to other emergency services

It will also be possible to manually initiate an emergency call to 112, with the manual control system installed to prevent accidental activation.

If activated, a voice connection is established with the 112 emergency call center, and a series of data are automatically transmitted:

• precise location (GPS coordinates) of the vehicle;
• time and method of activation (manual/automatic);
• vehicle identification number (VIN);
• number of occupants.

Vehicles are not subject to constant monitoring, and data relating to previous vehicle positions will be permanently erased. Data will not be shared with third parties without the vehicle owner's consent.