Ford releases details of 911 Assist

Ford Motor today released details on Sync's 911 Assist. The service will place a call directly to a local 911 operator in the event of an accident involving the activation of an air bag or an emergency fuel pump shutoff.

911 Assist, along with Vehicle Health Report, expands the features of Sync; both features are bundled together and now available as a software upgrade at dealerships for existing Sync owners and will come standard in the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Unlike other crash notification services, 911 Assist does not require the customer to sign up and pay for a costly monthly service subscription; Sync uses a customer's existing mobile phone. Also, a key advantage of the system is speed, since calls are placed directly to the local 911 operators--not a third-party call center, as with other competitive systems.

(Source: Ford Motor)