Guido Huppertz from the INT has worked on the system and explains the advantages of honking cars.

'All hitherto suggested solutions such as mobile phones or smoke detectors only inform the respective device user. The entire population can only be informed if 100 percent are equipped with these devices.'

The INT suggestion has a clear statistical advantage - a mere 14 percent of the registered vehicles are sufficient to provide extensive alarming, says a release of the Fraunhofer Institute.

If all new vehicles are equipped with eCall from the end of next year, the warning system may be ready for use after an establishment phase of two to four years, Huppertz predicts.