By Noah Levens
When the call for emergency responders arrives, the men and women who jump into action know there may be danger at the site of the emergency.
But, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the highest potential for danger actually occurs on the way to the call through collisions with motorists on the roadways.
It’s a common scenario: A fire crew is dispatched to an incident, so they hurry into their apparatus, prepare their equipment, and speedily head to the scene. With sirens engaged and lights flashing, they’re counting on motorists to see them, hear them, and pull over so they can make it to the scene and do their jobs as safely and as fast as possible. But, there are impediments: The driver checking his phone is distracted, doesn’t notice the siren, and clogs the lane; another motorist with soundproofing in her vehicle can’t tell where the truck is coming from and doesn’t react until it’s too late; or, worse, a vehicle enters an intersection with the fire truck fast approaching and a collision occurs.
A Solution
A new public safety tech company is working to help first responders avoid such collisions through direct communication between responders and the vehicles with which they share the road. This year, HAAS Alert has introduced Responder-to-Vehicle (R2V™) and Responder-to-Responder (R2R™) technology for firefighters and other emergency personnel that delivers real-time alerts to motorists in the vicinity of approaching emergency crews so that drivers can pull over safely in plenty of time to let the emergency trucks pass. Firefighters and fire chiefs will have a chance to get a closer look and learn more about R2V at FDIC International 2018 where HAAS Alert will hold a workshop on R2V Technology and how it’s keeping first responders and the public safer on the roads.
Attendees will see firsthand how easily HAAS Alert equips emergency vehicles to send real-time alerts via a Smart City Internet of Things (IoT) device installed onto emergency vehicles and connected to any aftermarket light bar and/or siren on any first responder vehicle. It’s a small transponder that installs in as little a five minutes, requiring no downtime for the fleet. Additionally, the company offers a direct data API solution, so departments can use HAAS Alert without any device on the vehicle. And, since the cost is minimal for all solutions (less than the cost of a pair of some firefighter gloves), most cities and responder crews are finding it simple to join the program. So, more and more fleets are getting access to R2V technology and benefiting from the alerts and the data they continuously generate.
1 Once an alert is received in a civilian vehicle, it shows up as a brief visual and audible warning right inside the vehicle. (Photo courtesy of HAAS Alert.)
Using the System
R2V Alerts are new for drivers and for first responders. For the first time, emergency crews have the ability to broadcast their location in real time whenever
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