How much more effective would emergency personal be if they had knowledge of an automobile accident scene ahead of time?  We will soon find out as sensors in most 2009 BMWs can assess car damage and other factors in a car accident, giving crucial information to emergency responders before they reach the scene of an auto accident.

The idea is that if these sensors can tell first responders how bad the car accident was, they can better determine the possibility of serious, but less obvious, internal injuries.  An unexpected consequence of recent auto accident safety technology (air bags, for instance) is that people in car accidents may not show outward signs of major internal injuries.

“This could save thousands of lives,’ said a physician who is director of the William Lehman Injury Research Center that worked with BMW on the sensors.

General Motors’ vehicles have OnStar which already can sense a car accident and its location, and then it will report it to authorities.  BMW takes this program to next level as its sensors calculate just how severe the car accident is on a 1-to-100 scale.  The various factors used in this calculation include deceleration level, seat belt use, the direction of the impact and whether the car accident involved multiple objects.  For instance, an unbelted driver who hits one object at 27 mph has a 20% chance of injury, while hitting more than one object raises those odds to 56%.  A rating above 20 in a car accident notifies the call center that potential injuries should be considered major.

This new system should help car drivers that cannot reach a call center for help.  In 14% of accidents, the BMW Assist Response Center cannot reach the driver over its two-way talk system.

Our personal injury attorneys like any and all safety technology if it can help prevent injuries or deaths in car accidents.  These new sensors from BMW are just another step towards helping rescue workers respond as quickly as possible to an auto accident scene.  Even the OnStar president, a competitor with the BMW system, likes this innovation, saying that it is a step “toward every vehicle being able to help” in a serious accident.  When the competition is on board, you know that there is something good involved.

While BMW claims to be the “Ultimate Driving Machine,” we seem to be closer to finding the “Ultimate Safe-Driving Machine.”

Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney and find out how we can help you.  We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case.  No fee if no recovery.