London, Aug 12 - Researchers in Germany have devised a technology which activates the horns of parked cars in case of disaster.

The technology is based on the eCall emergency system which new cars will be equipped with from September 2010.

The eCall system was developed at the initiative of the EU Commission to help reduce the number of road traffic fatalities.

It consists of a GPS sensor and a mobile phone component, activated only in case of an accident (that is, when the airbags are triggered) and which can transmit data (for example, accident time, coordinates and driving direction of the vehicle) to an emergency call centre.

Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis INT researchers found that this infrastructure can also be used to warn the population. Once the cars are equipped with a radio receiver, their horns can be triggered in case of disaster.