New insurethebox data reveals who would most likely benefit from new EU eCall law

Young drivers aged between 17 and 21 were responsible for 70% of the high impact alerts recorded by insurethebox’s Accident Alerts service last year.

In March this year, MPs debated on whether to bring in more restrictions on younger drivers, such as a probationary driver’s license.

According to the data, drivers who triggered alerts between midnight and 5am were six times more likely to require emergency services.

It also found that the most popular time for alerts was in the colder months. December, in particular.

More than 100,000 Accident Alerts have been triggered since insurethebox launched in 2010, and its most recent analysis shows that the emergency services were called 145 times during 2017 as a result of an Accident Alert.

Finally, it found that road accidents on a 30mph road are six times more likely to trigger these high impact alerts, which indicate the driver’s possible involvement in a collision, than on a motorway.

ECall

The telematics specialist has given its backing to the latest EU law which requires an e-call button to be fitted onto every newly manufactured car.

The eCall button alerts emergency services in the event of an accident and is now standard on new cars manufactured after 1 April 2018.

But, insurethebox says, after releasing this report, that younger drivers would benefit most if the device could be fitted onto older cars or existing models because their budget won’t stretch to a new car.

Simon Rewell, road safety manager at insurethebox said: “Our Accident Alert service is an example of telematics technology making UK roads safer.

“We provide young drivers with the benefits of connected motoring – and they don’t need to buy a brand new car to access it.

“If an alert is triggered, we attempt to contact the driver to check that they are safe and help them if they have been involved in a collision.

“In the event of a high impact, if we cannot reach them, we will review and make a decision on whether to call the emergency services with the location of the vehicle.”