=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2348/paper12
|storemode=property
|title=The Acceptance and Consulting Quality of Automatic Emergency Call Systems for Cars
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2348/paper12.pdf
|volume=Vol-2348
|authors=Stefanie Regier,Vjollca Sadikaj,Fatbardha Shabani,Ingo Stengel
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/cerc/RegierSSS19
}}
==The Acceptance and Consulting Quality of Automatic Emergency Call Systems for Cars==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2348/paper12.pdf
Smart Healthcare and Safety Systems
The Acceptance and Consulting Quality of Automatic
Emergency Call Systems for Cars
Stefanie Regier1, Vjollca Sadikaj1, Fatbardha Shabani1, Ingo Stengel1
1
University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe, Germany
Stefanie.Regier@hs-karlsruhe.de
Ingo.stengel@hs-karlsruhe.de
Abstract. Since March 2018 cars in the EU need to be equipped with a car emer-
gency call system called eCall. The continuous critique linked to eCall and data
protection was the starting point for two studies: the first analysed acceptance
factors of the eCall system, while the second study analysed the consulting qual-
ity in relation to data protection linked to emergency call systems in cars. The
safety feeling generated by the existence of eCall, concerns regarding the data
usage as well as trust in handling data have been identified as the main drivers
for the acceptance of eCall systems. The second study showed that customers as
well as seller/consultants are not yet properly informed about the new system.
Keywords: emergency calls, data protection, quality of consulting.
1 Introduction and Aims
The amount of produced cars in Europe is continuously increasing and has reached the
number of over 17 Million cars for the year 2017 [1]. As a consequence the total amount
of registered cars in the EU is currently bigger than 45 Million [2]. At this number, it
is natural that the death toll in traffic accidents reached more than 26000 persons within
the European Union [3]. Although this amount stagnates, it is still a considerable num-
ber. Only in Germany during the year 2015 3277 persons died as a result of a traffic
accidents [3].
Often a seriously injured victim of an accident is not able to make an emergency call.
This inability reduces the chance of survival of the victim considerably. To improve
this situation, the European Union made the introduction of an automated emergency
call for cars – called eCall - mandatory for the manufacturer of cars and trucks. This
rule is in place since the 31st of March 2018 [4].
Since the introduction of eCall there was plenty of critique related to data protection.
The aim of this paper is to evaluate acceptance factors for data protection as well as to
evaluate the consulting quality related to the use of data in the context of emergency
call systems.
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The paper will give a brief overview of the differences between the two most im-
portant emergency system types. Then two studies will be addressed. While the first
one is addressing customer acceptance of the eCall system, the second is addressing the
topic eCall and data protection at the level of consultants of car dealers.
2 Comparing Emergency Call Systems
The eCall system integrates crash sensors that are able to identify a traffic accident. In
case of a traffic accident, the emergency call system will initiate a free emergency call
to the emergency number 112. During this call important data including position, time
of occurrence of the accident, car identification number and direction of travel will be
transmitted to an emergency call centre. Additionally, based on the position of the seat
belts the system is able to identify the number of passengers traveling in the car in-
volved in the accident [5]. The initiated phone call will enable the emergency team to
talk to the injured persons and to collect additional information related to the accidents
and to the types of injuries of the passengers [6]. After this, properly informed and
equipped emergency units can be send to the accident as outlined in figure 1.
3 Transmission via wireless communication of
specific data as position of the accident, direc-
tion of drive, time to the emergency centre
4 Emergency Centre coordinates emer-
gency units and sets up phone communica-
tion with the car involved in the accident
2 GPS positioning of the car
involved in the accident
5 Emergency units receive the relevant
data from the emergency centres and in-
itiate next steps
1 Automated emergency call to 112 in-
itiated by an accident
Fig. 1. Overview of the emergency processes initiated within the eCall system
The EU-eCall service requires the collection and transmission of data. However,
personal data is protected by General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) [7] and ad-
dition data protection regulations specified for the eCall service [4]. These regulations
limit the use of data for rescue operations only. It is prohibited to use data for other
objectives or to pass data to a third party [8].
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3
In addition to the by law required eCall service, car manufacturer can offer their own
emergency services, known as TPS-eCall-Services. These services do not have to com-
ply with the strict regulations for eCall. As a consequence TPS-eCall services can col-
lect more information than regular eCall services. Another difference relates to the
online time of the service. While EU-eCall systems are activated only in an emergency
case, TPS-eCall systems can be permanently online. Consumer protectors see this crit-
ical, being afraid that car manufacturer might be tempted to collect more data than nec-
essary and make collected data available for additional commercial services. For a bet-
ter understanding the differences between the two types of eCall services have been
listed in the table below.
Table 1. Differences between the EU-eCall service and TPS-eCall services, based
on [9]
Categories EU-eCall Service TPS-eCall Services
Emergency call ser-
vice combined with
additional services,
Services Only emergency calls e.g. tracking, regular
calls to service cen-
tres
Privat-law agreement
Legislation adopted by the European Parlia-
with the customer
ment. It contains clearly specified regulations
Regulations based on data protec-
regarding the collection and processing of
tion regulations.
data
Forwarding to a
Emergency call for- Forwarding to the next local emergency call privat call centre of
warding centre (112) the supplier
Contains more data
than the data con-
Datatypes are contained in the minimal data
Data content tained in the minimal
set of EU-eCall
data set.
Has the same priority like a phone emergency Normal call without
Call priority
call. priority
Can the service be
Not possible Possible
deactivated?
The incentives for the use of TPS-eCall services are many. Technically there is al-
most no limitation in storing data. As a consequence the technologies used within eCall
allow access to data originating from different types of sensors, controllers as well as
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4
microphones and speakers. This allows the generation of driving profiles that might be
of interest for car manufacturers, insurance companies, suppliers and authorities. The
amount of data collected by the different TPS-eCall services of car manufacturers is
unclear to the public. Only car manufacturers know in detail what data is collected,
processed and stored. Customers are required to rely on the transparency and honesty
of car manufacturers, which is not easy on the background of the current mistrust.
GDPR issued by the EU in Mai 2016 defines clearly the condition under which the
collection, processing and storing of private data is allowed. With regard to this any
person can decide if she agrees to fill in a declaration of consent for the collection,
processing and storing of its personal data. In reality there are a couple of hurdles. When
this consent is not given, e.g. because car manufacturer did not outline the data to be
processed in detail, this might exclude the customer from the use of additional services
of the car manufacturer. This might limit also the amount of third party benefits, e.g.
benefits of insurances linked to the availability of certain personal driving tracking data.
Very often the customer is not aware of the existence of the EU-eCall service and is not
aware of the difference to the TPS-eCall service provided by manufacturers. Therefor
it is important that customers are informed properly during the vending consultation
about the use of privat data by the different emergency call systems and its protection.
Up to now, there are no known theory studies on eCall services. As a consequence
the aim of this study was to identify the acceptance factors of eCall services and to
analyse how well car sellers are informed and are informing customers about eCall and
data protection in vending consultations.
3 The Acceptance Study
3.1 Study Design
In the first study a theory based model has been developed with the aim to clarify the
current level of acceptance of the eCall service. The used acceptance model is based on
the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT) [11]. However,
it was necessary to modify the model: the constructs Behavioural Intention as well as
User Behaviour have been eliminated since by law eCall will be used on a long term.
In addition, it was necessary to extend the construct of Acceptance being the main con-
struct. Since the construct Performance Expectancy has a direct influence on the inten-
tion of Acceptance it was kept in the model. As a result, the model provided empiric
results based on data received from 174 persons that took part in the associated online
survey during the summer 2017. About 55% of the participants where women while
45% were man.
The system of hypothesises used – represented in figure 2 – was causally analysed
using Smart-PLS with the aim to verify the cause-effect relation.
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Perceived Social
effort influence
H 2+ H3+
H4+ 0,147
0,284
0,396
Perceived H 1+ Acceptance
benefit 0,237
-0,334 H7-
0,507 Confidence H8- Data prot.
H5+
in handling concerns
-0,536
data
Sense of se- H + positive correlation
curity dur- H 6- Perceived
-0,104 risk H - negative correlation
ing driving
Fig. 2. Model used to analyse the acceptance of eCall including path coefficients
The PLS algorithm has three stages: In stage I for each latent variable - based on
used data - values are estimated. These latent variables are used in stage II to estimate
the size of effect of the structural model [12]. Each latent variable is the result of a
linear combination of indicators. In the next step the iterative estimation of latent vari-
ables is done by optimising the estimated values using internal and external approxi-
mations. As a result the residual variance of the measurement and structural model is
minimised. This procedure is repeated until a converging value is achieved [13]. In
stage II the structural equation model with manifest variables is estimated [12]. As a
result path coefficients are being identified. Using mean values and constants finally
the linear regression function can be estimated.
The quality criteria used for analytical modelling using causalities are complying
with the standard. They lead to a sound model.
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3.2 Results of the Acceptance Study
Although car emergency services are supposed to be known by customers, only one
third of the participant have heard of the eCall Service.
The perceived effort has an influence on the user perception of eCall and as a con-
sequence has an impact on the acceptance of emergency call systems/services. The use
of the system will be free of charge for the normal user. Two out of three users assume
that there will be no costs associated with the use of eCall. This has a positive impact
on the acceptance of eCall.
More than 60 % of those surveyed would feel much safer if eCall is available in their
car. The feeling of safety has a strong positive influence on the perceived benefit of an
eCall-System and thus has an indirect influence on the acceptance of the system. The
feeling of safety is generated by trust into the reliability of the system. Tests showed
customers that an emergency phone call to the emergency call centre could be setup
during a couple of seconds making sure that the rescue operation is initiated immedi-
ately. First tests in Austria showed that the response time of the emergency units was
reduced by 40-50% compared to the normal response time without eCall. The variation
depends on the area of operation. The live-test proved that already 20 seconds after the
accident the relevant data was received by the emergency call centre [10].
Trust in handling data has a direct influence on the concerns regarding data protec-
tion and as such has an influence on the acceptance of eCall systems. Almost 50 % of
the surveyed participants do not trust that the system is protecting their data from third
parties. They are afraid that their data is used as well for other aims. About 28% of the
participants are afraid that by sharing all their data, they will result in a fully “transpar-
ent” driver. Nevertheless, the European Parliament rejected the deactivation possibility
for the eCall system. As such, building up trust and transparency regarding the collec-
tion and use of data is necessary. Users need to be informed in a timely manner about
the collected data and their use. There needs to be a differentiation between eCall sys-
tem and private TPS emergency call systems. Private emergency call systems as well
as additional services provided by car manufacturer are not falling under der regulation
of eCall systems/services and as such are able to collect permanently data.
4 Mystery Shopping Study and Discussion
4.1 Study design
This second study had the aim to analyse the quality of consulting during the vending
process with emphasis on eCall and data protection. Therefor non-representative Mys-
tery Shopping Study was conducted in summer 2018. During this period 18 consulta-
tions with car dealers with the aim to buy a new car were carried out. The test buyer
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logged the consultations. In the next step an analysis showed how good car sellers/con-
sultants were informed about eCall und data protection and how good they informed
potential customers about it.
One of the aims was to find out if car sellers/consultants could differentiate between
EU-eCall und TPS-eCall systems. It was of interest if they knew which type of data
sets were stored by each system. As the EU-eCall has a minimal data set specified by
law, it was of also interest to see if they knew what data is collected and stored by the
TPS-eCall systems. The car dealers involved where not informed about the mystery
shopping as this might have influenced the results.
Central questions addressed were:
- For a specific car: is the implemented emergency call system the required eCall
system or is it a TPS-eCall system of the car manufacturer?
- Does the car provide additional services that are connected with the eCall soft-
ware? If available, how are these services working?
- What happens with the collected data? Is data forwarded to a third party? If yes,
who is this third party?
- Has the user the option to deactivate TPS-services?
4.2 Results and Discussion of the Mystery Shopping Study
Overall we can confirm that the consulting quality related to eCall has potential for
optimisation. Some seller/consultants declared that they did not have any training
about eCall systems. The consulting quality provided by different persons has a high
level of fluctuation as you can see in the summative evaluation in Fig. 3.
Number of test runs
Criteria1 Criteria2 Criteria3 Criteria4 Criteria5 Criteria6 Criteria7 Criteria8 Criteria9 Criteria10
Fig. 3. Achieved positive responses to the 10 criteria during all mystery shopping’s
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The results of the relevant criteria are discussed below. Approximately half of the
consultants were able to explain the eCall-System well (criteria 6). Approx. 66%
were able to find the eCall emergency button (criteria 3). But none of the consultants
addressed the topic eCall by themselves (criteria 1). Asked by the Mystery Shoppers
about Connected-Services information about additional services was provided.
However, none of them addressed the emergency call topic. Concluding this means
that customers are expected to have a basic knowledge about emergency calls. In
many discussions consultants mixed up the EU-eCall System with the TPS-eCall of
the manufacturer. In one of the Mystery shopping’s wrong information was given
about the inability to switch off the eCall system.
The necessity for data protection trainings related to emergency call systems has
been identified as well. Only four out of eighteen consultants knew what data is
collected by the eCall system (criteria 7).
While some consultants did not reveal many information related to the aims and
goals of data protection, others responded honestly to the questions (criteria 8).
Asked about what happens with the collected data, some salespersons argued that
data is used for guarantee handling and customer retention as well as forwarded to
the manufacturers insurance for evaluation (criteria 9). Two salespersons think that
car manufacturers generate user driving profiles and that drivers’ profiles are already
“transparent”.
One of the salespersons argued that the customer has no right to disagree to the data
protection agreement. Refusing customers the right of disagree with the data protec-
tion agreement would constitute a clear offence against GDPR. In none of the con-
sultations a clear statement about which data is collected, processed or even for-
warded to a third party was received. The same applies to the third parties by which
data might be processed.
5 Conclusions and Outlook
The benefits of eCall (especially the safety aspect) outweigh the concerns regarding
data protection and informational self-determination. When it comes to personal safety
drivers are happy to share their personal data. From this perspective it makes sense to
support the promotion of this system to all drivers.
But car dealers need to support this process as well, e.g. by training salesman and
consultants on the topics eCall and data protection. This might be the right response to
the increasing requirement for more specific information of customers. In addition it
makes sense to increase the data protection awareness of consultants and sales persons.
Data protection audits will help to make sure that processes are GDPR compliant. The
availability of information about data collected, processed and stored in these services
will help to achieve transparency and as such generate customer trust, since achieving
trust is very important.
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It will be interesting during future research to analyse the impact of the suggested
changes on acceptance.
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