In February 2014, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection decided that every new car in Europe will be installed with a device, known as the eCall, which alerts medical, police and fire services automatically after a road accident.

The device also tells emergency services the exact location of the incident. The eCall is expected to be a standard feature from October 2015. A number of car manufacturers already have it built in certain models.

"This device can save lives. We have been discussing its introduction for 10 years now so it is high time to start building the device in every new model,” said Wim van de Camp MEP, one of the negotiators.  “The manufacturers indicated they expect difficulties meeting this deadline, but they must try harder. This will be good for all of us."

One of the debates regarding this proposal centred on where the car eCall should contact in the event of an accident.  Whether or not the technology should contact an emergency call centre or a car manufacture is still be decided.

Parliament will negotiate the eCall regulation with the EU Member States in the spring.