Bosch develops system to alert to wrong-way drivers

Bosch is today launching a cloud-based software system to alert to drivers going the wrong way.

The service alerts the driver who is heading in the wrong direction and warns other motorists in the danger zone, sending out almost instant push notifications. Currently used in 13 European countries and able to reach several million people in Europe, the software is set to have a great impact on road safety.

Some 15 navigation, streaming, and radio apps now feature the app function developed by Bosch: for example, navigation app Karta GPS, which is available in the UK. Bosch has also developed a software module to integrate the alert into vehicle infotainment systems – the only offering of its kind in the world.

Dr. Markus Heyn, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH said: “No more road fatalities because of wrong-way drivers – that is Bosch’s goal. We want to roll out the Bosch wrong-way driver alert across the board. Every road fatality is one too many.”

The danger of encountering a wrong-way driver on motorways is not as uncommon as many might think. In the UK in 2014, there were 800 accidents caused by wrong way driving. Nearly one-third of wrong-way driving incidents end after the driver has traveled only 500 metres – in the worst case with fatal consequences.

Smart connectivity software

To detect whether a car is joining a motorway in the wrong direction, the cloud-based function compares the vehicle’s actual movements with the permitted direction of travel - information stored in a database. The driver simply has to have the app open in the background for this to work.

Any driver who mistakes an off ramp for an on ramp is alerted by a push notification. At the same time, oncoming cars in the vicinity are alerted to the danger.

The more connected vehicles there are, the closer-knit the invisible safety net will become. This, in turn, will enhance the effectiveness of wrong-way driver warnings.

Bosch will use a new software module to integrate the wrong-way driver alert system directly into future vehicles’ infotainment systems. The dash display will then give the driver a heads-up within just a few seconds. Bosch is talking to many carmakers who want to offer the wrong-way driver alert as a standard feature.

Software sweeping the world

Swelling ranks of navigation services, radio stations, and news portals are integrating Bosch’s cloud-based wrong-way driver alert into their apps, to keep users safe on every journey.

For example, navigation app Karta GPS has integrated Bosch’s wrong-way driver alert. With 8 million downloads and a million monthly active users on average, the app from Portuguese startup NDrive is one of the world’s most popular mobile apps of its kind, used across 140 countries including the UK.

The radio and streaming app provided by bigFM, which has more than half a million unique users, has also featured Bosch’s app function since January 2019. Radioplayer.de, radio FFN, radio rainbow, rainbow 2, radio RPR, TCS, BikerSOS, and many others are offering this service to their app users.

Future partnerships include the makers of the Focus Online, Calimoto, and V-Navi smartphone apps.

Heather Butcher
Phone: +44 1895 83-8610
Heather.Butcher@uk.bosch.com

Bosch team at Good Relations
bosch@goodrelations.co.uk