Automatic Crash Notification Keeps Panic Factor Down

Automatic crash notification systems provide daily peace of mind — and once-in-a-lifetime life-saving possibilities.

By Bill Howard

Posted Dec. 18, 2007, at 1 p.m.

It’s a situation you don’t even want to think about: You swerve to avoid a deer that’s crossing the road late at night. The car fishtails, runs down an embankment, and flips on its side as the airbags and air curtains deploy. You’re groggy, you have no idea where your cell phone is and you’re not sure you’re in any shape to dial 911 anyway.

Despite that, help arrives a few minutes later, thanks to your automatic crash notification (ACN) service, a built-in cellular system that’s engineered to be able to call for assistance no matter how severe the accident is. ACN is part of the broader field of telematics, which provides two-way communications between your car and the outside world.

ACN comprises sensors and a cellular device that’s built into your car. Most of it’s in the back of the car near the rear wheel where it’s unaffected by front — or rear — impacts. It has an antenna that’s more powerful than the one on your cell phone, as well as its own power supply in case the car battery power is cut.

When the ACN senses an accident — typically because the airbags deploy — it immediately sends notification to a call center, reporting your car’s location via an embedded GPS (global positioning system). The advanced automatic crash notification (AACN) systems used during the past three to four years can distinguish:

• front, left side, right side and rear impacts
• the severity of the impact
• principal direction of impact
• number of impacts
• rollovers
• number of occupants

All this can be reported to the call center, which then notifies rescue services.

If your system includes voice calling, it opens a voice channel into the car, and the call center calls you to find out if you can respond. This information may determine whether a basic versus an advanced life support unit responds, whether to use an ambulance or helicopter, and whether to send the victims to the nearest hospital or to a larger regional trauma center. If the car can’t be located, the call center can deploy the car horn and flash the headlights.

The telematics service also can be used for nonemergency calls — typically to get directions or if you’ve locked your keys in the car. Some can even download navigation directions to your car.

Vendors and Pricing

OnStar is the best-known ACN service, and it’s on virtually every General Motors car that’s been sold during the past several years. (Some fleet cars can be ordered without OnStar.) While OnStar used to be offered to multiple automakers, it’s now a GM-only product, available on cars from Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, Hummer and Saab.

A competitor, ATX, offers similar services, but it’s marketed through automaker brands rather than under the ATX name. Others include BMW (BMW Assist), Lexus (Lexus Link) and Mercedes-Benz (TeleAid).

An ACN system typically costs between $10 and $20 a month, depending on the level of service. Because of the complexity of installing all the sensors — as well as liability concerns — almost all ACN systems are installed in new cars, rather than being retrofitted onto existing cars, but the monthly costs are roughly the same in both situations.

GM provides ACN in its OnStar service as part of the base cost of all its new cars, with one year of basic service — worth about $200 — free. After that, fees range from $200 to $400 a year, depending on the level of service chosen. ACN is always included; costlier versions add navigation and concierge features.

Prices are higher — $500 to $750 — from some German automakers such as BMW and Mercedes. However, ACN is free on BMW cars selling for more than $60,000, and it’s included in an approximately $3,000 premium package that most buyers choose. Otherwise, ACN costs about $750 in a package that also includes Bluetooth. That price includes four years of service, after which ACN costs $199 a year.

ACN is cell phone-based, so it works only in areas with cellular service. Though cellular service reaches 95 percent of the U.S. population, it covers much less of the country’s geographic area.

However, it’s in rural areas that ACN is most urgently needed, since the average time between a severe crash and arrival at a hospital is 52 minutes in rural areas versus 35 minutes in urban areas, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Though less than a quarter of car crashes occur in rural areas, they account for more than half of all fatalities, NHTSA reports.

Despite some misconceptions — partially fueled by the fact that cars with ACN also have satellite radio or satellite navigation — ACN is not satellite-based. Still, the antennas and power of these devices give them better range than handheld cell phones.

Owners of cars from the late 1990s or early 2000s that have ACN systems use analog service. That’s being turned off in 2008, to make way for digital systems that provide greater calling capacity.

If you have a car with an analog ACN system, you’ll need to upgrade to a digital one. GM, for instance, offers an upgrade (digital cellular hardware) free if you agree to sign up for at least one more year of service. But keep in mind that GM can’t install OnStar on a car that never had it.

Is ACN Right for You?

Does having a car with automatic crash notification makes sense for you? That depends. These systems are especially valuable for people who travel a lot at night or in rural areas where it’s less likely that a Good Samaritan with a cell phone will happen quickly on an accident scene.

ACNs also come in handy for the absent-minded and forgetful among us. While a severe crash isn’t even a once-in-a-lifetime situation for most people, the two-way communications capabilities of ACN are helpful several times over during the life of a vehicle for people who lock their keys in the car and use OnStar or a similar service for remote door unlock. These services also can be used for getting directions.

Finally, if you forget your cell phone and need to make a call, most services provide that — in some cases, affordably. For example, if you have OnStar and a handheld Verizon cell phone, the OnStar calling minutes are taken from your Verizon calling plan.

The benefits of ACN systems are clear, but only you can decide whether they are worth the price.

Bio: Bill Howard is an experienced automotive writer and the editor of TechnoRide.com, the car technology site produced by Ziff Davis. Previously, he was PC Magazine’s executive editor. Howard is also vice president of the International Motor Press Association.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Progressive Casualty Insurance Company or its affiliates.