Cole County EMS to implement emergency alert system for drivers
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
An emergency alert system that will notify drivers of EMS vehicles was approved by the Cole County commission and is set to be installed by the end of the year.
In a county commission meeting on Tuesday, the technology was approved along with the budget.
Cole County EMS Chief Eric Hoy said the project will be funded by a 2027 Highway Safety Grant. The grant is for 8,230 dollars, and it will fund the capital costs of purchasing the technology.
The Safety Cloud is HAAS alerting, a digital alert system that will link up to a driver's vehicle. The system will be mounted on Cole County ambulances, and when emergency warning systems are activated, Safety Cloud will send a message to nearby vehicles, according to Hoy.
"Drivers will get a pop-up on their screen saying that there is an emergency vehicle approaching," said Hoy. "It's not necessarily cellular-based. It's infotainment. So you will get a warning on your CarPlay or Waze or whatever you're integrated vehicle-based mobile features."
The software is not cellular-based, so drivers will not be receiving a text message but rather a pop-up notification on their car's center display.
According to the HAAS alert website, notifications would be sent up to 30 seconds in advance stating alerts such as: "DISABLED VEHICLE AHEAD" or "TOW TRUCK AHEAD."
Hoy said Cole County EMS has been having conversations with HAAS alert systems for years about potentially implementing the software and technology.
The reason for the system is for the safety of first responders when they are on scene at a roadside incident.
"Unfortunately across the state, there are, you know, way more secondary crashes," said Hoy. "Some other high-profile accidents that have occurred from folks not, either having situational awareness as they're approaching accident scenes or being distracted as they are operating around our vehicles."
The hope from Cole County EMS is that this system will be able to better protect first responders on the roadway, giving drivers an advance warning to slow down and move over.
The alert system will be able to collect data on the modification of drivers' behavior once the technology is installed. Hoy said the system will be able to communicate how quickly and how many vehicles are receiving emergency alerts as they approach a scene.
"We will have real-time data on how effective this technology will be looking," said Hoy.
For drivers on the road, this alert system will be able to better alert drivers to an emergency vehicle in the area and potentially be more effective at communicating what is happening in their area, according to Hoy.
"We know that cars are more insulated and more soundproof than ever. So our warning, you know, traditional warning devices such as sirens, they have a limited effectiveness," said Hoy. "Having the visual-based alerts that automatically populate on the infotainment center is just another way that we can get drivers' attention to hopefully, you know, get them to move over in the right roadway."
Once the software is installed, Hoy said he hopes this program will become countywide across other public safety agencies.
The project is still in its early phase, and Hoy said his team still needs to go through procurement, but the budget was approved, so he wants the installation and technical work to start within the next 90 days.
