Stellantis Has Equipped 1.8 Million Vehicles With Emergency Vehicle Alert System!

More than 1.8 million Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, and Jeep® brand vehicles on the road in the United States and Canada give drivers in-vehicle notification of an active fire truck, ambulance, or other nearby roadway hazards with the Emergency Vehicle Alert System (E.V.A.S.) feature of the Uconnect connected vehicle platform.

A standard feature of Uconnect that keeps drivers of the 2018 model year and newer vehicles safely aware of the environment around them, E.V.A.S. is an innovation that emerged from the Stellantis Startup program that nurtures and rewards employee innovation.

“The widespread deployment of E.V.A.S. in North America demonstrates how Stellantis is harnessing the power of V2X connectivity and in-vehicle technology to make mobility safer for our customers,” said Yves Bonnefont, Stellantis’s Chief Software Officer. “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 are continuously looking to expand its capabilities.”

E.V.A.S. alerts come from H.A.A.S. Alert’s Safety Cloud platform, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and digital alerting solution used by thousands of public and private roadway fleets in North America. In addition to emergency vehicles, Safety Cloud receives and delivers notifications from tow trucks, disabled vehicles, work zones, arrow boards, highway gates, and other connected assets and equipment on the road.

Building on the E.V.A.S. foundation, Stellantis is now evaluating the next step in V2X active driver safety notifications with Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol (H.E.L.P. ®), working with Emergency Safety Solutions Inc.

H.E.L.P. delivers warnings to drivers approaching a disabled vehicle. Disabled vehicles stopped on the shoulder or roadway pose a significant danger to other drivers, particularly at night or when weather conditions reduce visibility – a situation that in the United States contributes to a crash an average of every seven minutes and kills or injures over 40 people per day, according to research published in Accident Analysis and Prevention, a peer-reviewed public health journal.

How H.E.L.P. Works

When activated in a disabled vehicle, H.E.L.P. sends a notice of the car and its exact location to H.A.A.S. Alert’s Safety Cloud, which transmits a notification to approaching vehicles with Uconnect (or drivers using other mobile and in-dash systems connected to Safety Cloud.) This gives drivers 15-20 seconds of warning, roughly a quarter mile/0.5 kilometers at highway speeds.

With H.E.L.P., disabled vehicles can share critical safety messages with all cars that connect to the Safety Cloud platform, unlocking a critical new capability in vehicle-to-vehicle technology and helping improve road safety for all drivers.

H.E.L.P. can be activated manually by the driver when the vehicle is stationary or automatically in safety-critical situations such as collisions or tire blowouts.

A potential enhancement for H.E.L.P.-equipped vehicles with L.E.D. lighting is the addition of H.E.L.P. Lighting Alerts, which flashes the hazard warning lights and other exterior lamps at a scientifically tuned rate and pattern to grab the visual attention of oncoming drivers better.

Foundation For Future Features

E.V.A.S. alerts, S.O.S. calls, and vehicle health reports via the Uconnect app form the foundation employing data from the vehicle to help Stellantis customers. In addition, owners enhanced value with activated SiriusXM Guardian subscription features, including stolen vehicle tracking, virtual driver assistance, and cellular-based remote start.

“Technology we offer today helps set the stage for future vehicle innovations,” said Mamatha Chamarthi, Stellantis Head of Global Software Business Management. “It begins with the foundation that safety should come standard. It grows from there to offer owners convenience features on demand when they connect, enroll, and subscribe. These software capabilities result in an enhanced and highly valued customer experience with our iconic brands.”

Developing advanced technology that enhances vehicle safety and keeps drivers informed, including using V2X solutions and connected vehicle systems, is a critical element of Stellantis’ commitment to the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan to offer cutting-edge mobility in an aim to become number one in customer satisfaction for products and services in every market with Stellantis operations.

Stellantis is developing S.T.L.A. Brain, S.T.L.A. SmartCockpit, and S.T.L.A. AutoDrive, three all-new technology platforms deployed simultaneously across the four BEV-centric S.T.L.A. vehicle platforms starting in 2024. The Stellantis software strategy targets generating about €20 billion ($21.5 billion) in incremental annual revenues by the end of the decade, backed by a more than €30 billion ($32.3 billion) planned investment in electrification and software through 2025.