The Key to Improved Emergency Responder Protection

August 23, 2024

Written by the HAAS Alert Team Brynne Piehowski

Responding on the road is dangerous for firefighters and EMS workers, but digital alerting is the key to improved emergency responder protection.

Firefighters and EMS workers are under the constant threat of near misses and struck-by collisions due to the precarious state of roadway safety. Drivers on the road are more distracted than ever. The temptation to scroll through texts and social media on phones is ever present. The National Safety Council (NSC) and the Emergency Responder Safety Institute have even found that 71 percent of drivers take out their phones to snap pictures or record videos while passing an emergency vehicle on the road.

Gear shifts and in-vehicle infotainment centers have become more intricate and distracting. On top of that, newer cars have become incredibly soundproof. Some vehicles available to the motoring public boast sound-deadening underbody shields or installing active noise-cancellation solutions that make it difficult to hear emergency vehicles' sirens.

Impact of distracted driving on first responders

Source: Just Drive Day

The worse these distractions become, the more first responders are at risk for injury and even death when they respond on the road. The NSC reports that 19 percent of drivers admit their own inattentiveness has likely put first responders at risk.

Every year, tens of thousands of collisions occur between civilian drivers and emergency vehicles. In 2017, 15,000+ fire department vehicles in the US were involved in collisions. Similarly, up to 25 percent of annual line-of-duty firefighter fatalities are attributed to motor vehicle crashes.

Departments may have to deal with expensive legal repercussions and replacing an emergency vehicle can cost millions. When that apparatus is damaged and out of commission, that leads to less emergency apparatus on the road to protect the community.

While there is no comprehensive data available on the total cost to society of vehicle-related first responder fatalities, the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) estimated that the average overall cost of a fatal collision involving a regular citizen is $11.2 million.

This breakdown includes the average cost of emergency services, medical services, lost wages and fringe benefits, household productivity loss, insurance processing, workplace costs, legal costs, and congestion impacts. But as plenty of crashes and near misses go unreported, these figures are likely underestimated.

Emerging technology like digital alerting systems have the potential to begin reducing the number of unnecessary collisions, injuries, deaths, and costs that accumulate every year.

How digital alert systems improve first emergency responder protection

A digital alert system is an electronic notification sent directly to a driver. HAAS Alert leverages this technology in its flagship platform Safety Cloud® to enable emergency and road maintenance vehicles to broadcast life-saving digital alerts that notify drivers of nearby emergency responders. Any alerting vehicle or asset can be equipped with digital alerting technology.

These notifications inform drivers that there is a nearby or upcoming roadway hazard or emergency vehicle and they need to slow down and move over to give those personnel clearance to safely do their jobs. Safety Cloud broadcasts digital alerts straight to connected vehicles up to 30 seconds before they reach EMTs and firefighters working on the road.

Digital alerting offers more than traffic preemption

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration

Emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) helps first responders arrive on the scene faster and safer by adjusting traffic signals. This technology gives emergency response vehicles a green light on their approach to an intersection while providing a red light to conflicting approaches. Emergency vehicles communicate with traffic lights through a piece of hardware or direct software integrations.

While they do have similarities, digital alerting and EVP provide different purposes. Digital alerting on its own has nothing to do with traffic lights. Emergency vehicles equipped with a digital alerting system like Safety Cloud communicate with other vehicles and assets on the road instead of traffic lights. When an emergency vehicle broadcasts a digital alert, it notifies nearby drivers to slow down and move over, instead of completely coming to a stop for a red light.

Digital alerting improves connected vehicle safety through vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication

Digital alerting is a form of V2X, which refers to a vehicle's ability to communicate with its surroundings. This powers connected cars to send and receive data with things along their pathway on the road.

Thanks to V2X communication, drivers are able to be alerted to imminent crash situations, allowing them to provide emergency personnel with the clearance they need to safely do their jobs.

How digital alerts improve firefighter safety

The state of firefighter safety on the road is precarious. Fighting fires may come with inherent risk, but the dangers that emergency responders face start on the road. Digital alert systems are key to reducing that risk.

Mount Laurel Fire Department

Mount Laurel Fire Department Deputy Chief Larry Fox lives by Vision Zero, which is an initiative to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries. With Safety Cloud digital alerting, he believes it is crucial to prevent crashes so their services can be maintained in the community.

Irondale Fire Department

The Irondale Fire Department has had a number of near misses with the motoring public and knew there had to be more ways to protect firefighters on the road. The Safety Cloud-Cradlepoint integration gave the department confidence that motorists were receiving accurate and real-time alerts when they were actively responding to incidents.

Columbus Fire Department

The Columbus Fire Department implemented Safety Cloud digital alerting and achieved a 15 percent reduction in struck-by collisions.

How digital alerts improve EMS safety

The dangers that EMS workers face start on the road. One of the most cost-effective initiatives that can better protect them on the road is technology solutions like digital alerting.

DC Fire & EMS

Between 2019 - 2020, HAAS Alert partnered with NHTSA and D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services to demonstrate the benefits of digital alerting. The results showed that 95 percent of first responders notified of another approaching emergency vehicle will begin to slow down their speed.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical

The Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical provides services to about 120,000 people and has noted that while evolving automotive technology has improved safety in some ways, it's also become a detriment due to distractions for drivers.

Safety Cloud is the key to improved emergency responder protection

Safety Cloud provides numerous benefits to firefighters and EMTs, including operational efficiency, streamlined traffic flow, expedited emergency operations, a safer on-scene environment, move over law compliance, and peace of mind for first responders and their families.