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Automatic Crash Response

Onstar Automatic Crash Response service

What would you do if you had an accident and couldn’t call for help? The moment your airbag deploys, an OnStar advisor makes contact with you over the hands-free speakerphone. At the same time, the system locates your car – so emergency services can be dispatched to your side if necessary.

In certain types of crashes, your vehicle’s built-in sensors are designed to provide information about the crash and its severity to an OnStar advisor who can immediately attempt to connect to your vehicle to offer help. If you’re unable to respond or ask for help yourself, a specially trained advisor can direct first responders to your location and provide them with information about the likelihood of serious injuries.

If you have an accident and can’t call for help, OnStar reacts instantly.

  • Automatic Crash Response opens a direct line to a trained OnStar advisor, who’ll talk to you in your chosen language (even if you’re abroad) via the hands-free speakerphone
  • OnStar sends a report to our Service Centre, including your location, travel direction, vehicle information and the scope of the damage

Using built-in vehicle sensors, Automatic Crash Response can connect a specially trained OnStar Advisor who is immediately connected into your vehicle to offer help if you’ve been involved in a crash. You’ll get help right away — even if you can’t ask for it. Advisors can notify first responders about your location and the likelihood of serious injuries using Injury Severity Prediction. OnStar Advisors are also trained and Emergency Medical Dispatcher-certified to provide medical assistance until help arrives, ensuring you won’t face the emergency alone.

Automatic Crash Response is an OnStar service developed to provide assistance during a crash. When built-in sensors determine that a crash has occurred, OnStar Automatic Crash Response can automatically alert an OnStar Advisor and predict the severity of injuries. An OnStar Advisor is immediately connected into the vehicle to see if the driver and passengers need help, even if they can’t ask for it.

How does Automatic Crash Response work?

Onstar says:

Downstairs launched in 1996. We have been offering automatic crash response in all the General Motors vehicles that have been in the process for validating ACR (Automatic Crash Response) in the product very similar to the process we used for doing the embedded OnStar ACR (Automatic Crash Response) system.

The FMV in Europe looks up to a vehicle in a couple of different ways. There’s a mechanical address so we have to attach it to the glass. Then we apply power to ground ignition line to that product elsewhere in the vehicle that is compatible on ninety nine percent of the top 100 vehicles over the last 10 years.

There are several phases that we went through to develop the crash sensor technology really had to figure out how we take automotive grade sensors and build it into the mirror or FMV form factor. We’re able to work with our suppliers to create a sensor arrangement that would reliably detect those crashes with the same sensitivity or an appropriate level of sensitivity for this type of car. One of the most important aspects of an embedded system connected to the vehicle is that you can rely on that product being maintained in the vehicle getting the power supply from the vehicle. You don’t have to worry about the battery being dead. Having cellular performance issues quite honestly a device that isn’t attached to the vehicle may have trouble surviving a crash where we’ve tested the FMV product through a series of life crash tests and have determined its survivability through those types of cuts. We want to make sure that that unit is properly mounted properly connected so that when you really count on an emergency situation it’s going to perform.

Frequently Asked Questions About Automatic Crash Response

Does Automatic Crash Response call 911?

When is Automatic Crash Response available?

Does Automatic Crash Response require an active OnStar service plan?

What if my airbags don't go off?

What if I don't know where I am?

What if I can't speak?

Do I have to push a button to activate Automatic Crash Response?

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1 Comment
  • Question… does anyone know if the embedded OnStar equipment keep any digital information including audio?

    In my recent car accident on Aug. 16, 2021, as the airbags when off I heard a woman identified herself representing OnStar asking me if I was alright…I didn’t even know I had OnStar as I was the 3rd. owner, a used 2014 FORD “Festa” Titanium.

    So I saw a video on here about how all the telemetry, audio, etc. works within the rearview mirror.

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