Photo/Illutration The SOS button, upper left, comes standard on Nissan Kicks released in June by Nissan Motor Co. (Chihaya Inagaki)

Just like at sea, motorists in need of emergency assistance can now summon help by sending an SOS.

An increasing number of new cars are equipped with an emergency SOS button to assist drivers in the event of an accident, serious illness or road rage.

The safety feature was introduced for luxury cars about 20 years ago, but it has rapidly spread widely in recent years, thanks to its user-friendliness and convenience.

For the new Levorg, Subaru Corp.'s mainstay station wagon unveiled on Oct. 15, owners can add the optional SOS button in the overhead console. When the button is pressed, the driver can speak to the operator at an emergency call center.

The button was introduced for the first time along with a function that sends an automatic notification when the vehicle's airbag is deployed.

The emergency button with similar functions is equipped as standard on all Kicks models rolled out in June by Nissan Motor Co. It is also offered as a standard or optional feature on Honda Motor Co.'s new Fit, released in February, and Mazda Motor Corp.'s three models including the MX-30 that went on sale in October.

About 30 models of Toyota Motor Corp.'s vehicles, or half its lineup, come with the button as standard.

Each company offers a different subscription plan.

The companies use the Helpnet emergency service managed by Japan Mayday Service Co., which was co-founded by the automobile and telecommunications companies.

In the event of an emergency, the operator communicates with the driver to learn about the situation on-site and connects the call to a police or fire department if necessary. The location of the vehicle, its chassis number and other information are also transmitted to ensure quick responses to accidents and other trouble.

Although Toyota and Nissan adopted the Helpnet service for their luxury cars around 2000, it failed to become widespread because it required a special device. The service became available on car navigation systems after it was incorporated into Toyota's on-board information service G-Book in 2005, prompting other companies to follow suit.

As for the benefits of the SOS button, a Honda publicist said, "The service can be used by those who opt not to choose a (high-end) car navigation system complete with notification functions, because all you have to do is push the button."
In 2015, a little less than 1 percent of all cars running in Japan were equipped with the emergency call function. But the figure has risen to slightly under 5 percent at present.

The emergency button can also be effective to report tailgaters and other road rage incidents. 
According to Japan Mayday Service, the number of calls concerning tailgating was one or so per month in fiscal 2018. But the number increased to 52 in fiscal 2019, with 46 of these passed on to police.

"We want to provide life-saving assistance and help solve problems as quickly as possible," a representative said.

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