Stellantis Wants Drivers to Warn Drivers about Emergency Vehicles

• The Stellantis Emergency Vehicle Alert System is a no-cost V2X warning system for owners of 2018 to current Stellantis products.
• The multinational automaker says 1.8 million vehicles are currently enrolled in the EVAS system.
• Stellantis is also evaluating a way to alert motorists of a disabled vehicle ahead using a similar system.

Let’s face it, people don’t pay nearly as much attention behind the wheel as they should. Whether they’re playing a rousing game of Candy Crush, eating, or texting their friends about the latest episode of Succession, distracted driving is a plague on the roadways. While distracted driving is universally accepted to be bad, there is an overlooked side effect: delaying, impeding, or endangering emergency vehicles, and first responders. Well, the folks at Stellantis might have a solution to help address that problem.

Dubbed the Emergency Vehicle Alert System, this feature simply pops a warning notification onto a Stellantis vehicle’s Uconnect screen and makes a subtle alert. The message notifies the driver of an emergency vehicle oncoming, upcoming or stationary on the path ahead. The system’s notification is hard to miss on the screen, but the faint beep might initially confuse you.

This system works in the US and Canada with emergency and municipal vehicles equipped with HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud system. A transponder sends a notification to Stellantis cars 2018 and newer that have enrolled in the Stellantis suite of connected services.

This also includes automated SOS calls in an accident and roadside assistance calls. This Safety Cloud transponder connects to the Stellantis network, which then relays equipped cars information about relevant emergency vehicles.

Now, this system isn’t actively changing the world. Not every emergency or municipal vehicle is connected to the HAAS Safety Cloud, nor can every vehicle get this notification. So you’ll still have to pay attention to the road. Though, this is a step forward to connected cars, which could be a gateway to an even safer roadway.

According to the Stellantis head of global software business management Mamatha Chamarthi, this subscription service is provided free of charge for 10 years after enrollment. After that, the company could look into a fee structure for this system, but the company might also extend the no-cost window.

According to Stellantis, owners of cars built from 2018 to today can sign up for this service. An over-the-air update should be able to bring you this tech.

Stellantis claims 1.8 million of its cars are currently capable of using the EVAS system. Of course, if you don’t happen to have access to this system, the flashing lights and screaming siren of an emergency vehicle might be a hint to move out of its way. And if you haven’t memorized the brands within the Stellantis stable in the US, here they are: Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and Abarth.

Stellantis is also evaluating a way to alert motorists of a disabled vehicle using a similar system. The automaker is working with Emergency Safety Solutions on V2X active driver safety notifications as part of the Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol. HELP delivers warnings to drivers approaching a disabled vehicle, which often poses a significant danger along the roadway.

Do you think connected car solutions like this will see mass adoption? Tell us your thoughts below.

Wesley Wren has spent his entire life around cars, whether it’s dressing up as his father’s 1954 Ford for Halloween as a child, repairing cars in college or collecting frustrating pieces of history—and most things in between. Wesley is the current steward of a 1954 Ford Crestline Victoria, a 1975 Harley-Davidson FXE and a 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie. Oh yeah, and a 2005 Kia Sedona.