Most modern-day cars come with a dedicated SOS (e-Call) button, which is typically found on the car's ceiling next to the rearview mirror and the dome lights. These SOS buttons have been mandatory in both the EU and the UK since 2018, and are also available in many cars sold in the U.S. True to its name, the SOS button is used to connect the car's occupants to a service call center in case of a sensor-detected emergency, or by simply pressing the button.
However, not all presses of the button will
trigger it. Some cars have protective covers over them that need to be removed, while others require you to press the button for a few seconds before the call goes through. This means that accidental presses shouldn't trigger the system, while intentional presses most definitely should. Here is what would happen if you pressed the SOS button in your car.
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How Does The SOS Button In A Car Work?
The system works by detecting whether the car has been involved in an accident in which the airbags were deployed. If so, it will trigger the car's built-in system or a connected cellular network and will immediately initiate a call, similar to the Apple Watch Crash Detection feature. According to research carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), technologies that automatically contact emergency services after a serious crash save between 360 and 721 lives each year in the U.S.
However, the system can also be initiated manually by just pressing the button or with additional steps, such as confirming you want to make the call through the car's infotainment screen. When doing so, always make sure it's due to an emergency, and not a breakdown, as some cars do come with dedicated breakdown assistance buttons as well. If you press the button by accident or if you do not need emergency assistance, you can simply hold the SOS button to end the call or explain to the agent that no emergency services are needed.
Why SOS Buttons Aren't Required — And Which Carmakers Have Them
Systems such as these are mandatory in both Europe and the UK, so why aren't in-car SOS buttons mandatory in the U.S.? There are no definitive answers as to why, but NHTSA's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards are guided by strict cost-benefit analyses, like the one carried out for the automatic emergency braking system in 2023.
These analyses weigh the estimated lives saved against the projected implementation costs and how such costs could affect the owner. Therefore, NHTSA needs to prioritize certain safety features above others, and the fact that SOS button features are already available for many cars makes the mandate less urgent. To complicate matters further, Consumer Reports states that due to the 3G network shutdown, even some cars that did have this feature, sadly, have lost it for good because a 3G network was required to connect the call.
In the U.S. market, some automakers do offer automatic crash notification systems, but not all of them, and not in the same way. Ford, Tesla, Mazda, and Acura, for instance, rely on the occupant's cell phone that needs to be connected to the vehicle and with the function enabled. On the other hand, BMW, Genesis, Land Rover, Jaguar, Polestar, and Porsche do sometimes offer them without requiring the phone to be connected, albeit often as parts of subscription packages or only with newer models.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
