Triumph SOS places medical help in your pocket

The new Triumph SOS smartphone app, released today and available now through Apple and Android app stores, connects riders to emergency services in the event of a serious accident.

Triumph describes the app as "a new essential part of a rider's safety equipment", with the platform able to detect the occurrence of the accident via a smartphone's sensors, before automatically contacting emergency services. Those services will then attempt to contact the rider to check if they are okay, or despatch emergency responders if they can’t.

Emergency services are provided with the stricken rider's GPS location, direction of travel, bike details and medical information, although Triumph stresses that the app neither records nor transmits any speed or telematics data.

An emergency call can be manually cancelled at any time, while multiple Triumph SOS users in the one group ride can share their location details, allowing each other to see where the other Triumph SOS-equipped riders are.

The system has been tailored specifically for motorcyclists and utilises a smartphone's inbuilt sensors to detect and then validate an accident, sending the call for help just seconds later. The app can be paused if desired, but it requires mobile phone signal to work, with ramifications for those travelling in remote parts of Australia without network coverage.

However, where coverage is provided, the system represents potentially life-saving technology, quickly alerting authorities to any serious incident and slashing response times.

Related reading:
Triumph reveals electric future
Triumph Rocket 3 special editions thunder in
Updated 2021 Triumph Bonneville range revealed

The app is available in the UK, Europe, Republic of Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and provides coverage for users across all the territories in which it operates.

Triumph SOS is available on a one-month rolling subscription of $6.99 per month, with no cancellation fees or long-term contracts.

"The advanced crash-detection algorithms are specifically tailored to motorcycles and have been developed using years of real-life riding data; they monitor key sensors in your smartphone and look for patterns consistent with a motorcycle accident," says Triumph Motorcycles UK Head of Brand Management, Miles Perkins.

"Now what's key about Triumph SOS compared to some other emergency call-outs is that it's been through an incredibly thorough validation process and demonstrated sufficient reliability to have been approved by emergency services directly. Now as you can imagine, this approval is not given out easily, as emergency services cannot afford to be responding to false call-outs."

Triumph says the Triumph SOS system is much quicker than other call-out services, and because it contacts emergency services directly authorities don't have to deal with people who are listed as an 'emergency contact' by other similar platforms, once they have been notified of a friend or loved one's accident – people who are potentially very upset, yet who have little idea of what's happening on the ground. And because some other services can allow riders to nominate multiple emergency contacts, the Triumph SOS system means emergency services won't be contacted by multiple parties for the one incident, which can cause confusion and places extra strain on resources.

You don't have to be a Triumph owner to use Triumph SOS, but Triumph owners can take advantage of a three-month free trial.

"We've done a great deal of customer research, and we can tell you that people see this as a very worthwhile service and good value, with a cost that equates with just a couple of coffees each month for the very large safety benefit that it brings," said Mr Perkins.