This is what happens if you give into temptation and press the SOS button in your car

If you’ve ever sat in the driver’s seat and stared up at that SOS button, you’ve probably wondered what would happen if you pressed it.

It glows invitingly above the rearview mirror, looking like it belongs in a spy movie rather than your family SUV.

Surely it can’t be as dramatic as launching ejector seats or calling in a helicopter rescue… right?

Well, let’s just say pressing it isn’t nearly as harmless as testing your windshield wipers.

VISIT SBX CARS – View live supercar auctions powered by Supercar Blondie

The SOS system will deploy automatically in a crash

Carmakers know people are curious, which is why the button is designed to resist accidental nudges.

Some hide it under a cover, while others require you to press and hold before anything happens.

That means a quick tap won’t suddenly trigger alarms; however, it also means that if you’re intentionally pushing it, the car assumes you really mean it.

So what actually happens when curiosity wins?

The suspense finally ends with your car connecting you to a live emergency call center, almost like having 911 built directly into your dashboard.

In fact, if your airbags deploy during a crash, the system may trigger automatically without you touching a thing.

The operator on the other end can pinpoint your location, assess the situation, and send help if it’s needed.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this technology saves hundreds of lives in the US each year.

Hold down the SOS button to cancel your request

Of course, not every press results in flashing lights and sirens.

If you call by mistake, you can cancel by holding the emergency button again, or politely tell the operator there’s no emergency.

You might feel a little silly, but that’s a whole lot better than having police or paramedics show up uninvited.

So why don’t all American cars have an emergency button by law, the way they do in Europe and the UK?

Well, US regulators weigh safety features against costs, and since many automakers already offer SOS systems, there’s been little push to make them mandatory.

To make things trickier, the 3G shutdown even left some old cars without a working system at all.

Still, as more brands adopt the tech, the SOS button is becoming a standard part of modern cars.

In fact, you probably already have an SOS button in your phone, although many don’t actually know how to activate it.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie