Safety
Look out for each other.
What Coroute does when something goes wrong on a ride, what it shares and with whom, and what it cannot do.
Coroute does not replace emergency services.
In an emergency in India, call 112 first. Coroute helps your group and nearby riders know and respond. It cannot promise that anyone will.
How we think about it
Calm, simple, and honest about limits.
Your own group first
Every alert goes to your own ride group first. Always. Nothing else changes that.
Share the least
Each person sees only what they need to help, and only while the emergency is open.
You decide
Crash detection, emergency texts and help from other groups can each be switched off.
No promises we cannot keep
Phones miss things and networks drop. Coroute adds a way to get help. It does not guarantee it.
Step by step
What happens in an emergency.
From the moment an alert is raised to the moment it is closed.
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1. RaisedSOS or crash alarmYou hold SOS, or a crash alarm runs out. Without signal it waits on your phone and sends later.
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2. Group alertedYour group knowsEvery rider in your group gets the alert with your position, distance and direction.
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3. ResponseSomeone is goingRiders answer "I'm going" or "I'm with them" and can navigate to you.
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4. Nearby helpIf it is onA few riders of other groups on the same road may be asked to help.
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5. WarningOthers slow downGroups riding toward the place get a short caution, with no names.
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6. ClosedAccess endsRiders of other groups lose access at once. The medical info copy is removed.
SOS
Hold to send.
Hold the SOS button to send it, so a tap in a pocket does not raise an alarm. The alert reaches your whole group with your position. It stays on every screen until it is resolved.
Pick a reason if you can: medical, breakdown, crash, or your own words. From the same screen you can call or text your emergency contact.
You can also start SOS from the ride notification on the lock screen. Nothing is sent until you hold the button.
- No signal? The SOS is kept on your phone and sent once, as soon as the connection returns.
Your group responds
When something goes wrong, distance matters.
Every rider sees the alert with the distance and direction to you, and when your position was last updated. Your position keeps updating for your group while the emergency is open.
Riders answer I'm going or I'm with them, so everyone knows who is on the way. The emergency view shows the nearest member of your group.
Tap Navigate to ride to the rider in trouble, with spoken distances along the way.
Automatic crash detectionNew in 3.15
If you cannot press SOS.
During a ride, above 25 km/h, your phone reads its motion sensor to notice a crash. This happens on your phone only. Motion data is not sent anywhere and not stored.
- After a hard impact and a sudden stop, an alarm sounds: "Possible accident detected. Are you okay?"
- A 15 second countdown starts. The alarm can show over the lock screen, so you can answer without unlocking.
- Tap I'm OK and nothing is sent.
- Tap Need Help, or do not answer, and an SOS marked as automatic goes to your group. It carries your position, direction, speed before the impact and the time.
Our server also watches for a rider who stops suddenly from high speed and does not move for 2 minutes, or loses signal right after riding fast. It then asks the lead and the nearest riders to check on that rider.
What crash detection cannot do
- It runs only during a ride and above 25 km/h. Slow falls and low speed crashes are not detected.
- A phone that is thrown far, broken or out of battery cannot raise the alarm.
- It can go off when nothing happened, for example if the phone falls hard. Tap I'm OK.
- On some phones, Do Not Disturb may keep the alarm quiet.
- You can switch crash detection off in the app at any time.
Emergency textsNew in 3.15
When there is no internet.
This is off until you switch it on. When it is on and your SOS cannot reach our server, your own phone sends a text message (SMS) with a map link to your position.
The texts go from your phone and your SIM, not from us. Your carrier may charge for them.
To make this work, your phone keeps the numbers of the other riders in your group during the ride. They are stored encrypted, never shown on screen, and deleted when the ride ends.
Do not want to receive these texts? Switch off "Receive emergency texts from my ride group" in your profile.
Who gets the text
- Your emergency contact
- Your lead
- The nearest riders in your group
At most 10 people. Only when the SOS could not be sent over the internet.
Coroute Safety NetworkNew in 3.15
What if another rider can reach them first?
The closest rider may be the first person able to help. Sometimes that rider is in another group.
When you raise an SOS or a crash alert, your own group is always alerted first. Coroute also looks for a few riders of other groups who are already riding toward you on the same road, and who may reach you sooner.
At most 3 riders are asked at a time, never everyone nearby. If one says no, the next may be asked.
Before they agree, they see only
- The place of the emergency
- How far it is, and roughly how long it takes to get there
Not your name, your group, your phone number, your ride mates or anyone's position.
If they tap "I Can Help"
They also see your first name and your vehicle type and colour, so they can find you. Your medical info only if you switched that on. Phone numbers are never given to riders of other groups.
Your group sees that a nearby rider is coming, their first name, how far away they are and where they are on the way. Not their group.
- Own group
- 8 km, 12 min
- Nearby rider, other group
- 1.6 km, 3 min
Only where Coroute groups ride
Nearby help works only when other Coroute groups are riding on the same road at that moment. On many roads there will be nobody. Do not count on it.
You can opt out
Switch off "Help nearby riders" and you are never asked. Switch off "Ask nearby riders to help me" and other groups are never asked for you. Your own group still is.
Separate from Public or Private
Nearby help works the same whether your group is Public or Private. Safety settings are separate from social visibility.
Accident warningsNew in 3.15
One emergency should not become another.
Riders of other groups who are heading toward an accident on the same road get a short caution, with the place only and no names. The phone can read it out as they get closer.
A warning is a reason to slow down and look. It does not mean the road is closed or that help has arrived.
Privacy in an emergency
Who sees what, and when.
Help needs some information. Coroute shares the least it can, for the shortest time.
| Who | What they see | When |
|---|---|---|
| Your ride group | Your position, distance, direction and the time of the last update. Your medical info, if you filled it in. | While the SOS or crash alert is open. Medical info only during that time. |
| A nearby rider who is asked | The place of the emergency, how far it is and roughly how long it takes. | While the request is open. |
| A nearby rider who taps "I Can Help" | Also your first name and your vehicle type and colour. Medical info only if you switched on sharing it with a helper from another group. Never phone numbers. | Until the emergency is closed. Then access ends and their phone drops what it was shown. |
| Your group, about that helper | That a nearby rider is coming, their first name, distance and position on the way. Not their group. | While they are on the way. |
| Groups approaching on the same road | The place of the accident only. No names. | As they ride toward it. |
| Service administrators | Open SOS alerts, who raised them, where, and who is going to help. Never medical info, never intercom audio. | For safety operations. |
False alarms
Mistakes happen. Say so.
If an alarm went off by mistake, tap I'm OK. Your group sees that you said you are OK.
- Cancel before it is sent. During the 15 second crash countdown, I'm OK sends nothing. Letting go of SOS before it fills sends nothing.
- Cancel a sent SOS. It is closed as a false alarm, and your group sees that it was one.
- Repeated false alarms limit outside requests. Coroute keeps the times of your last 10 false alarms that other groups were asked to help with. An account with many gets fewer requests sent to other groups.
- Never your own group. Your own group is always alerted, whatever your history.
Coroute complements emergency services. It does not replace them.
In an emergency in India, call 112. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
Coroute depends on phones, batteries, GPS, mobile networks, and on other people being nearby and able to help. Any of these can fail. No response is guaranteed, and no alert is a substitute for professional help.
Read the privacy policy and the terms of use for the full details.