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PRESS RELEASE
H.E.L.P.® Alerts Included in Volkswagen Suite of Safety-Enhancing Vehicle Features
HOUSTON, TX (October 28, 2024) — Emergency Safety Solutions (ESS) announced today that Volkswagen of America, Inc. is launching a suite of advance warning communication features that improve driver awareness and road safety. These innovations include ESS’ H.E.L.P. Digital Alerts, which sends digital notifications to warn oncoming vehicles when a Volkswagen vehicle is disabled, and real-time in-dash notifications to help Volkswagen drivers avoid potential hazards on the road ahead.
Later this Fall, these features will be included within Volkswagen’s Car-Net Safe & Secure connected vehicle services plan at no additional cost for most model year 2024 and newer Volkswagen vehicles equipped with the proper technology.
Leading the Way in Safer Driving
Vehicle H.E.L.P.® – As the first Automotive OEM to integrate H.E.L.P. (Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol) Digital Alerts, Volkswagen is furthering its mission to help improve road safety. This system sends digital alerts from disabled Volkswagen vehicles (e.g., flat tires, airbag deployment, out of gas) to notify certain oncoming drivers of a disabled vehicle in their direct drive path.
These alerts are delivered to oncoming drivers via navigation apps and in-dash notifications, giving them a warning to slow down and navigate around the disabled vehicle, helping to reduce the risk of collisions. H.E.L.P. is deployed automatically when certain disabling events are detected by the vehicle, as well as manually activated by the driver when prompted.
Road Awareness Alerts – In addition to Vehicle H.E.L.P., Volkswagen drivers can also benefit from Road Awareness Alerts. These alerts are powered by ESS partner HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud® V2X digital alerting platform. These in-cabin notifications warn Volkswagen drivers when approaching certain stationary hazards such as a disabled vehicle, or certain moving hazards such as an emergency responder or wrong-way driver. The alerts appear on the vehicle’s center display, helping drivers to avoid potential dangers.
“Volkswagen’s ongoing commitment to innovation and safety is at the core of these new features,” said Frank Weith, Director of Engineering Connected Services at Volkswagen Group of America. “By integrating Vehicle H.E.L.P. Alerts and Road Awareness Alerts, we’re continuing to deliver on our mission to help make roads safer. As the first automaker to adopt H.E.L.P. Digital Alerts, Volkswagen is showcasing the flexibility of our Connectivity Platform in being able to quickly implement new technology with innovative partners.”
Beyond its efforts with Volkswagen, Emergency Safety Solutions’ H.E.L.P. Lighting Alerts are available on most Tesla vehicles in the U.S., as announced by Tesla in October 2023 via X (formerly Twitter). Additionally, Stellantis has announced it is assessing H.E.L.P. Digital and Lighting Alerts for integration into its connected safety platforms. ESS is also collaborating with other global automotive OEMs, as well as commercial vehicle manufacturers and fleets, to implement H.E.L.P. Digital Alerts and H.E.L.P. Lighting Alerts across the industry.
About Emergency Safety Solutions
Emergency Safety Solutions is a certified minority owned enterprise whose mission is to save lives by eliminating preventable crashes involving vulnerable vehicles that are disabled and stopped on or near active roadways. This growing safety issue affects nearly 125,000 people yearly in the U.S., with nearly 23,000 injured or killed. ESS’ patented and trademarked H.E.L.P.® solutions provide advanced lighting alerts and digital location-based alerts to greatly improve advance warning communications to drivers. For more information, visit www.ess-help.com.
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Media Contact:
Craig Keller | ESS Communications | ckeller@ess-help.com | 847-476-7543
