Driver assistance module for a motor vehicle

An electronic control unit for a vehicle, said electronic control unit comprising a memory region in which is stored a lookup table including data entries associating integer values with distance values, each integer value representing a type of alert and each distance value representing a distance along roads, wherein the lookup table is used by the electronic control unit to indicate a need to send a response message to an alert signal, the electronic control unit being configured to:

• receive the alert signal relating to a traffic event containing an integer value indicating the type of alert and geographic coordinates including a latitude and a longitude indicating a position of the traffic event,
• receive Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates indicating a predetermined position of the vehicle,
• determine the distance between the vehicle and the traffic event as a distance of a route along roads from the GPS coordinates indicating the predetermined position of the vehicle to the geographic coordinates indicating the position of the traffic event,
• determine whether or not there is a need to send the response message immediately in response to the alert signal, the response message acknowledging receipt of the alert signal, the determining whether or not there is the need comprising:
• associating the alert signal with a priority level among a set of priority levels stored in the lookup table,
• determining that there that there is a need to immediately send the response message when (i) the priority level is a high priority level or (ii) the distance between the vehicle and the traffic event is smaller than a predefined safety distance, and
• determining that there is a need to send the response message later on when (i) the priority level is not a high priority level and (ii) the distance between the vehicle and the traffic event is larger than the predefined safety distance;
• determine a time delay for dispatching the response message to be sent over a communication network in response to determining that there is the need to send the response message,
• dispatch a command signal to a communication module commanding the response message to be sent over the communication network when the time delay elapses, wherein the response message is stored in the memory region until the time delay elapses,
• dispatch a command signal to the communication module commanding the response message to be sent over the communication network in response to determining that there is the need to immediately send the response message, and
• generate an information message to cause a component of the vehicle to vibrate to alert a driver of the vehicle of the traffic event.