The eCall system must be fitted in all cars manufactured for the European Union market from 2018. It automatically makes a free 112 emergency call if the vehicle is involved in a serious road accident. You can also activate eCall manually by pushing a button.
The Rescue Service said that 11 misleading calls is a lot. If the caller does not respond to the rescue dispatcher's questions, firefighters immediately rush to help. During the past days, none of the calls had an actual crash at the scene.
Laimdota Gavrilova, Chief of the Riga Division of the Single Contact Center of the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD), explained that when receiving such a signal, "we assume that the worst has happened, that is, a road traffic accident with human casualties. We send our equipment, the State Fire and Rescue Service, we also inform the medics, we call the State Police."
The service said it was important not to let children play with the button.
If it is pressed or activated, for example as a result of a minor collision, dispatchers should be called to inform them of the situation - even if the button was pressed unintentionally.
The VUGD reiterated that the in-vehicle eCall system is an essential support for people in distress. It allows people to quickly inform the responsible services of the help they need. When the eCall system is activated, if the 112 Contact Centre dispatcher speaks, the person must provide information on where and what has happened, as well as answers to any questions asked by the dispatcher. If the person does not answer, the dispatcher assumes that a serious road accident has occurred and sends firefighters, police, and paramedics to the scene.
