BMW ASSIST(tm) EXTENDS AUTOMATIC COLLISION NOTIFICATION TO INCLUDE "RISK OF SEVERE INJURY" ALGORITHM.
01/11/2009

Woodcliff Lake, NJ - January 11, 2009 at 13:00EST... BMW of North America today announced that 2009 and later model BMW vehicles (excludes X3) feature BMW's unique "Risk of Severe Injury" calculation when equipped with the BMW Assist(tm) system. If an accident occurs, this BMW-exclusive system collects data from on-board control units and transmits it automatically to the BMW Assist response center. There, the data is evaluated using a unique algorithm to determine the probability of severe injury. Rescuers can now be informed not only of where an accident took place, but also the risk of severe occupant injury.
"Knowing not only the precise location of a crash but also the potential for life threatening injuries immediately will propel emergency services to the scene armed with the necessary life-saving tools," states Dr. Jeffrey S. Augenstein, director of the William Lehman Injury Research Center in Miami. "When fully implemented, a trauma system based on enhanced Automatic Collision Notification will save thousands of lives. BMW has taken a leadership position in this effort. BMW is due a tremendous amount of credit for spearheading this life-saving safety initiative."

Following a severe accident, the first priority is to dispatch prompt and appropriate assistance to the scene. BMW Assist helps ensure rescue services are notified quickly and accurately. Now, using a predictive algorithm jointly developed with the William Lehman Injury Research Center, BMW Assist's Automatic Collision Notification service has been enhanced to include more-detailed information about the injury probability and type of collision to help the local emergency services determine the most appropriate response team to dispatch.

BMW introduced vehicles with Automatic Collision Notification in model year 2000. This service helps ensure rapid response after a crash by sending an alert promptly and automatically, including the accident location, and then establishing a voice call. More than 500,000 BMW vehicles are now in operation with this core BMW Assist feature.

More data helps determine the best response
In the event of a severe accident, the BMW Assist system will automatically transmit location and vehicle data to a response specialist. The specialist then communicates verbally with the driver to determine the condition of the vehicle's occupants. Meanwhile, a second response specialist contacts the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to request dispatch of emergency services, sharing the vehicle's transmitted location, based on GPS coordinates and information obtained from the driver. This information can also be made available to the PSAP via a web site.

To better understand the type of accident and possible extent of injuries, BMW Assist's enhanced Automatic Collision Notification service takes into account a wide range of relevant data. Numerous sensors distributed around the vehicle shed light on the type of collision and the resulting probability of injury. The deployment status of various safety systems in the vehicle is ascertained along with front seat occupancy and seat belt engagement status for the front seats. This information makes it possible to identify and differentiate frontal, rear, side, and multiple collisions, and estimate the level of injury to occupants.