Car technology is starting to become more and more modernized. There was a time where being able to unlock/lock or start up the car with a smartphone app was a crazy idea. These days, automakers are working on ways to keep consumers connected to their car, smartphone, smart devices, and even other cars. The hot new trend is vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, and automakers are finding ways to take such tech and increase driver/passenger safety and security. When it comes to Stellantis, the automotive group currently has a standard feature (as long as drivers are subscribed to Uconnect) found on 2018 model-year and newer vehicles called the Emergency Vehicle Alert System (EVAS). Already an in-vehicle notification system that makes drivers aware of upcoming emergency vehicles and other hazards, the next step is to go even further and alert drivers of immobilized vehicles.

Many drivers already know that they slow down or merge to the next furthest lane from an emergency vehicle, such as a fire truck or ambulance. Hazardous situations, such as tow trucks, disabled vehicles, work zones and arrow boards, highway gates, and other equipment in the road or on the roadside can be a bit of a surprise to drivers, and keeping them in the know is another helpful feature of EVAS alerts and the HAAS Alert Safety Cloud platform. Now, Stellantis wants to work with HAAS Alerts and Emergency Safety Solutions Inc. to create in-vehicle motivations of immobilized vehicles.

Think about it. When a vehicle becomes disabled, whether broken down or in a collision, they don’t always find their way to the shoulder. Sometimes, they end up in the middle of the roadway and pose a significant danger to other drivers. This writer once stalled out on a hill, one of the worst places with all the traffic coming up the hill, unaware of upcoming obstructions. This is one of many situations in the United States that contributes to a crash every seven minutes (on average) and kills or injures more than 40 people per day, according to an article published in the peer-reviewed public health journal, Accident Analysis and Prevention. Getting a heads-up could surely help avoid more incidents, and that’s where the Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol (HELP) system comes in.

We already have Stellantis working with HAAS Alert, a company that uses cloud technology to deliver digital alerts from emergency response vehicles, municipal and private fleets, work zones, and connected infrastructure to nearby drivers to notify them of upcoming obstructions or hazardous situations. Adding Emergency Safety Solutions Inc. to the mix, Stellantis can use HELP to also make drivers aware of disabled vehicles, down to their exact location with HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud. Alerts can be for vehicles as far as a quarter-mile, giving drivers 15-20 seconds to react to the warning. On the side of the disabled vehicle, the driver can manually turn on the HELP system, and in safety-critical situations (such as collisions or tire blowouts), the HELP system will active automatically. Stellantis hopes to enhance this with LED lighting that will flash the hazard warning lights and other exterior lamps to help the driver notice the disabled vehicle especially in weather conditions that could affect visibility.

“The widespread deployment of EVAS in North America demonstrates how Stellantis is harnessing the power of V2X connectivity and in-vehicle technology to make mobility safer for our customers…Care for our customers that is second to none in every market where we sell is the foundation of our transformation to a mobility tech company. We’re proud to be the first global automaker to make V2X digital alerting a standard safety feature for our connected customers, and we are continuously looking to expand its capabilities.” - Yves Bonnefont, Stellantis chief software officer

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Photo Source/Copyright: Stellantis Media