ATX Group, the leading independent provider of telematics services to global automobile manufacturers, announced today the deployment of the BMW Assist(TM) enhanced Automatic Collision Notification (ACN) application for most 2009 and later BMW models. This represents the next step forward in the rapid and appropriate deployment of emergency response following a vehicle accident.

BMW's enhanced ACN sends additional data from the vehicle's control units automatically to the BMW Assist response center, operated by ATX. There, the data is evaluated using a unique algorithm jointly developed with BMW and the William Lehman Injury Research Center in Miami, Florida. This analysis allows the response center to determine the risk of severe injury. This information can help local emergency services set dispatch priority, identify the most appropriate response team and the most appropriate treatment facility to transfer the injured parties.

ATX has served as the BMW Assist response center since 2001 in North America and since 2003 in Europe. The ACN service helps ensure rapid response after a crash by sending an alert promptly and automatically, including the vehicle location. Simultaneously, a voice call is placed to the response center. ATX then contacts the appropriate Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) with jurisdiction at the accident site and conveys both the crash information as well as occupant-provided information. More than 500,000 BMW vehicles are now in operation in the U.S. and Canada with this core BMW Assist feature.

"ATX is proud to partner with BMW Assist to set the pace for leading-edge, connected vehicle applications that enhance emergency response to vehicle crashes and advance traditional telematics safety to a broader platform of end-to-end, mobile emergency management," said ATX President Steve Millstein. "This is a critical next step in using vehicle generated-data to help emergency dispatchers more quickly assess the nature of the emergency, and aid emergency responders in more accurately determining triage criteria. It has the potential to save precious minutes in identifying and transferring critically injured patients to the appropriate care, as well as providing more information to prepare awaiting hospital emergency staff."