Test of Futuristic Automobile Crash Notification System Under Way
10 November 1999
Test of Futuristic Automobile Crash Notification System Under Way in Minnesota
ROCHESTER, Minn.--Nov. 9, 1999--An operational test is underway in southeastern Minnesota of a crash notification system designed to enable more rapid and better-informed emergency response to motor vehicle crashes, according to project officials.Representatives from Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT), Minnesota State Patrol, Veridian Corp., Midwest Wireless, and AAA-Minnesota/Iowa gathered in Rochester, Tuesday, Nov. 9, for a demonstration to initiate field tests of technology developed through the Mayday Plus project.
The Mayday Plus project has developed a special emergency response communications system at Minnesota State Patrol and Mayo Clinic emergency dispatch centers. The system provides authorities with automatic collision notification, and location and crash severity data from in-vehicle devices. For the test, 120 vehicles based in the Rochester area have been equipped with automatic crash notification equipment to test the system's capabilities and evaluate its benefits.
"We believe this system holds a lot of promise," says Scott Zietlow, M.D., a Mayo Clinic trauma surgeon. "If we can reduce emergency response times significantly with a system of this type, we could stand to save many lives and reduce disability."
When a crash occurs, the Mayday Plus system relays information from the vehicle on its location, direction of crash impact, the vehicle's final resting position, and the change in velocity lost during the crash. After transmitting this data, the system then opens a direct voice connection to passengers in the car.
"Getting immediate notification and the correct location of a crash through this technology means we can send emergency help right away--saving time, and ultimately, saving lives," said Colonel Anne Beers, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol. "Response time is critical in our rural areas. In Minnesota, 30 percent of miles traveled are on rural roads--yet this is where 70 percent of our fatal crashes occur," added Beers.
Mayday Plus is an extension of in-vehicle equipment developed during Automatic Collision Notification (ACN) field tests in New York. Sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the ACN project developed crash severity reporting capabilities. Mayday Plus has built on the foundation developed during the earlier test by developing a system that intelligently routes emergency data to responders based on the vehicle's location and the type of emergency. It allows the dispatchers who must respond to the emergency in the given jurisdiction to receive the emergency information directly from in-vehicle devices.
More than a dozen commercial in-vehicle Mayday devices are available to consumers today. The devices typically combine wireless telephone technology, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and in-vehicle sensors to provide such services as anti-theft, remote door unlocking, roadside assistance and accident notification.
U.S. motor vehicle crashes claim more than 40,000 lives, result in more than 5 million injuries, and cause more than $150 billion in economic loss annually. There is more death, injury and economic loss caused by vehicle crashes every year than caused by the Gulf War, Hurricane Andrew, the 1993 Midwest Floods and the Northridge California Earthquake combined.
Ultimately, officials hope that systems such as the one developed for the Mayday Plus project will lead to operational, integrated systems that help overcome problems such as inaccurate crash location, delayed notification and unreliable eyewitness accounts all of which delay emergency responses and further endanger crash victims.
For more information, visit: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/guidestar/Maydayplus.html