A new first-of-its-kind personal safety and automotive assistance service is now available to Malaysians ready to aid anyone who find themselves lost, stranded or in need of emergency personal or automotive help. The new service is dubbed EARs, for Emergency Assistance & Response Services, and it is the brainchild of Edwin Ong, CEO of EARs.
Describing the origins of his idea, Ong said “EARs was conceptualized mainly because I have many friends and family members who have experienced vehicle breakdowns or personal crimes, or who have had their car stolen.”
“Although there are services for each of the situations I’ve just mentioned, these services tend to work independently of one another, hence I felt the need for an all-in-one total solution for personal and automotive assistance, leveraging on a mobile device which many of us already have,” he added.
A unique feature of the EARs programme is its free ‘EARsAlert2′ iPhone app which allows users to seek for help at the touch of a button. Developed since 2009, the released version has been fine-tuned and available for free downloading on iTunes. Users without an EARs account can try the app in demo mode, and the app will soon be available for other smartphones.
At the tap of an icon, the user’s phone sends a signal to the EARs control centre, which will then identify your location via GPS. An EARs agent will then call the user number to ascertain the nature of his or her emergency and make arrangements for the appropriate help – tow truck, auto repair, ambulance, etc – to be dispatched. In the event of a road accident, EARs is also ready to assist with police reporting, workshop coordination, and insurance claims.
In the event that the emergency signal is sent, EARs will notify the five closest contacts of the user, notifying them of the emergency and its nature. If the user is not contactable after activating the app, the EARs control centre will assume that a serious emergency has befallen the person, and the five closest contacts will be immediately notified. The person nominated as the primary contact will even be given additional info such as last known coordinates to help facilitate a search.
Details on the full range of services offered by EARs is available at www.ears.my. Users registering for the service at the website stand a chance to win a brand new iPhone 4S. Services available for Malaysians are the Breakdown and Assistance (BRASS) plus Personal Alert (PAL) combined packages at only RM75 per year or RM10 per month. A one-week trial membership is available at RM5 by sending the text “ON EARS 5” by SMS to 36660 for immediate sign-up. Other packages are available for non-Malaysians traveling or residing in the country.