Lithuania

The single European Emergency Call Number 112 is fully implemented and operational in Lithuania, although it is not the only emergency number in use at the present time. There are some other numbers in different communications networks for different emergency services (See the table: .pdf (53 KB). However, it has already been determined that in the future, 112 will be the only emergency number in Lithuania. Already in Lithuania's capital Vilnius (population 650,000), 112 emergency calls are handled by the recently established Emergency Response Centre (ERC). Calls to other emergency numbers in that area are handled by the ERC as well.

In the rest of the country, emergency calls to number 112 are handled by the local police stations. It is foreseen that the ERC will take over the management of 112 calls as well as calls to other numbers from the respective emergency services by the end of 2008. Thus emergency call management (call taking & dispatch) will be fully centralised, and four regional ERCs - as both primary and secondary PSAPs - through the entire country.

The ERC uses state-of-the-art technology, designed and dedicated to assist the operator to make the right decision (questioning hints, digital maps, computer aided dispatch, processing of location data, etc.). The ERC is able to receive the location data from people calling 112 from landline networks. To achieve the process of location data of mobile phone users, ERC and mobile networks providers “Bitė Lietuva”, “Omnitel” and “TELE2” signed a common agreement concerning close cooperation in order to implement technical facilities allowing to provide ERC with the location data of mobile phone users when Single Emergency Call Number 112 is dialed.

The E112 function will allow ERC operator to see the location of the caller in the digital map right after the emergency call is answered. This will enable him (her) to arrange the provision of appropriate emergency assistance in more accurate manner, so that the emergency services will faster reach the scene of emergency and will provide the emergency assistance. E112 is extremely important when the caller gets into danger in unfamiliar area and can’t define where he is. In such case every second delayed for determination the location and attempts to reach it maybe vital and may cause severe after-effect. Whereas E112 solutions will allow to avoid the unnecessary delays, to respond immediately and to dispatch closest available resources of the appropriate emergency services.   

“It’s highly pleasing, that all three mobile network operators supported the initiative to cooperate in the field of E112 and considered the implementation of caller location information solutions as the task of particular importance,” said Artūras Kedavičius, the Head of ERC. According to him, the agreement will serve as underpinning for the introduction of qualified E112 services in Lithuania.

The agreement will also capacitate for proper implementation of Universal service directive 2002/22/EC and in particular it’s Article 26(3), obliging Member States ensure that undertakings which operate public telephone networks make caller location information available to authorities handling emergencies, to the extent technically feasible, for all calls to the single European emergency call number “112”.

European Commission continually monitors the progress of the implementation of E112 requirement in the member states and promotes the introduction of other E112-based systems, such as eCall, throughout EU.

On 18 October 2005, the director of Lithuania's ERC signed the eCall Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of Lithuania at the High-Level Meeting in Brussels.

Concerning the accident rate information in Lithuania, the most common type of accident on Lithuanian roads during 1999-2004 has been a vehicle running into pedestrians, according to the Lithuanian Road Administration. The second most common type of accident is reported to be collisions of vehicles. In 2004 751 people were killed and 7877 were injured in traffic accidents on Lithuanian roads.