- Emergency Call now available for users with a German phone number and German address
- Two-minute countdown after triggering, after which the IMA Group takes over
- Free with Revolution membership, 39 euros per year (about 46 US dollars) for Classic members
French airbag specialist In&motion is bringing its automatic emergency call function to Germany. After an airbag deployment, the system alerts a professional assistance service, even if the rider is no longer able to respond.
An airbag works in milliseconds. It detects the fall, deploys, and protects the chest, back and neck at the moment of impact. What happens afterward has so far been outside its scope. That is exactly where In&motion’s Emergency Call function comes in, which the manufacturer is now rolling out in Germany as well. It takes care of the minutes after the crash, when a rider lies injured, dazed or unconscious at the roadside and can no longer call for help themselves.
The function was developed together with Liberty Rider and assistance partner IMA Group. It is already in use in France, Belgium and Italy, and Germany is now being added. This expands the airbag system from a purely protective element into a chain that reaches from crash detection all the way to alerting emergency responders.
How does In&motion’s Emergency Call work?
The Emergency Call starts automatically as soon as an In&motion airbag has deployed. An alert process then begins on the rider’s smartphone, with a two-minute countdown.
During these two minutes, the rider who has fallen has two options. They can confirm that everything is fine and no help is needed, or request assistance directly themselves. The time window is deliberately chosen: it is meant to give the rider a chance to gather themselves and assess their own situation before a rescue chain is set in motion.
What happens if the rider doesn’t respond?
If there is no response, the system transmits location data and other necessary information to the IMA Group, an assistance service that can be reached around the clock. The service then attempts to reach the rider by phone three times.
The purpose of these calls is to assess the situation and determine whether help is actually needed. If no connection can be made, or if it turns out that assistance is required, emergency responders are notified and dispatched to the scene.
The process doesn’t necessarily end with the medical side. If no medical help is required, the service can also step in for practical matters, such as organizing a towing service or other assistance. That’s what distinguishes it from a simple emergency call relay.
E-Call from the car, brought to protective gear
Automatic emergency call systems have long been established in the automotive sector. Under the term E-Call, modern vehicles automatically alert an emergency call center after a serious accident and provide data such as location or vehicle-related information so that rescue efforts can start faster.
Together with Liberty Rider, In&motion has transferred this principle to a motorcycle airbag system. According to the company, this makes it one of the first and so far only providers to integrate the E-Call concept into wearable airbag technology, meaning a portable protective system rather than a vehicle.
Pierre-François Tissot, Chief Business Officer at In&motion, frames the function this way: “An airbag protects during the critical milliseconds of a crash, the Emergency Call function during the minutes afterward. By integrating a professional emergency call system into our motorcycle airbags, our riders are not alone after an accident. Crash detection, airbag deployment and alerting help become one seamless safety chain.”
The difference from classic emergency contacts lies in the reliability of the other end of the line. A saved contact from family or friends has to be reachable, has to understand what happened, and has to know what to do. The IMA Group, by contrast, is a professional service with trained staff. Tissot points out that an automatic alert is only the first step, and what matters most is that it quickly turns into the right kind of support.
In which countries does the emergency call work?
The service can currently organize help in a total of ten countries. Besides Germany, France, Belgium and Italy, these include Austria, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, among others.
For everyday use, that’s only a minor aspect, but it matters for touring riders. Anyone crossing the Alps or planning a longer trip further south doesn’t automatically leave the coverage area. Using the service in Germany requires a German phone number and a German address.
What does the Emergency Call function cost?
For users with a Revolution membership, the Emergency Call is included at no extra cost. Anyone with a Classic membership can book the function as an add-on for 39 euros per year (about 46 US dollars).
In both cases, activation happens through the My In&box app, the same application used to manage the In&box anyway. The In&box is the electronic control unit built into the airbag vests and jackets of the partner brands, and it handles crash detection.
What’s behind In&motion’s technology?
In&motion has spent ten years developing airbag systems designed to detect a crash in real time. The basis is predictive algorithms, meaning computational models that use sensor data to predict whether a critical situation will lead to a crash before the impact happens.
The technology was first tested in elite sport. According to the company, it now accompanies 130,000 users across four disciplines: motorcycling, equestrian sport, skiing and cycling. On average, the manufacturer says the system provides protection in 25 falls every day. According to partner Held, In&motion’s systems have so far recorded more than 350 million kilometers ridden and over 16,000 accidents. This data feeds back into the algorithms, so the system is meant to get better at recognizing when it needs to deploy with every event it records.
For motorcycle safety, the Emergency Call is thus another building block in a development that turns the airbag from a passive protector into a connected safety system. Protection no longer ends with the impact, but extends all the way to alerting emergency responders.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What does the In&motion Emergency Call cost?
The function is free for users with a Revolution membership. Classic members pay 39 euros per year (about 46 US dollars). Booking is done through the My In&box app.
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How quickly is help alerted after a crash?
After the airbag deploys, a two-minute countdown starts first, during which the rider can cancel the alert or request help directly. If there is no response, the location and other data go to the IMA Group, which then tries to make phone contact three times before emergency responders are dispatched.
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Does the Emergency Call also work abroad?
Yes, the service can organize help in ten countries. Besides Germany, these include France, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, among others.
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Which airbags support the function?
The Emergency Call is tied to the In&motion airbag system and is activated via the In&box and its companion app. It requires an existing In&motion membership as well as, in Germany, a German phone number and address.
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Does the Emergency Call replace a saved emergency contact?
The service doesn’t rely on private emergency contacts, but on the IMA Group, an assistance service reachable around the clock with trained staff. Besides medical help, it can also arrange towing services or other assistance.
