14 15
I HAD A
GUARDIAN
ANGEL
Mr. Thuß, can you remember
how the accident happened?
Yes, very much so. I was on a
business trip with my BMW i
when another car coming from the
left failed to yield right of way. It
crashed into my car’s front end – at
km/h, without braking.
Most accident victims have
diffi culty acting rationally in a
situation like this one. How did
you experience the minutes
immediately after the crash?
I was really in a state of shock. I just
sat behind the wheel, having lost my
orientation somewhat, but I didn’t feel
any pain. Then I heard the voice of a
member of the BMW Assist team over
the hands-free system. He contacted
me literally seconds after the crash.
What did he ask you?
He took me through what had
happened, point by point, and what
the consequences were. Luckily
neither I nor the other driver were
seriously injured. I only had some
minor bruises on one shoulder and
hand. What mattered most to me
was that the calm and structured
conversation with the BMW
employee helped me regain my
bearings relatively quickly.
* May not be available in all countries. Please consult
your BMW partner.
Andreas Thuß had a serious
accident in his BMW Series.
Advanced eCall, the automatic
emergency call by BMW
ConnectedDrive*, provided
assistance – even before the
emergency services arrived.
IN ADDITION TO MANY OTHER DETAILS,
THE EMERGENCY CALL TRANSMITS
THE LOCATION AND SEVERITY OF THE
ACCIDENT AS WELL AS THE NUMBER
OF OCCUPANTS.
The automatic BMW Assist
emergency call is activated
as soon as the sensors
register a serious accident.
Drivers can also activate
the emergency call function
manually, by pressing a
button in the vehicle’s
headliner. This enables
them to call for help for
other drivers for example.
What happened next?
There was no damage to the cabin,
and the door opened without
problems. I got out of my car with
my legs slightly shaking – and at
that moment, I already heard the
ambulance siren. The automatic
emergency call service had also
transmitted the exact location of the
accident. The paramedics even knew
that I was travelling alone. After the
accident, the vehicles had come to a
halt in the middle of an intersection.
But you can imagine what it would
be like if you had an accident in the
middle of the night and ended up in
a roadside ditch. There might be a
crucial delay until someone comes to
assist you.
How did the emergency services
come to have all of this
information?
The navigation system knows your
current position and transmits it
when it alerts them. The emergency
call is sent as soon as the sensors
register a serious accident. The seat
occupation detector of the seatbelt
system records the number of
passengers.
What surprised you most?
What I fi nd impressive is how the
automatic emergency call reduces
the time it takes for a doctor to arrive
on the scene, and that it was triggered
without my doing anything.
