Evaluating a Real-time Pre-emptive Ambulance Driver Safety Monitoring and Feedback Telematics Device

Objective: To evaluate the use and effectiveness of a Real-time Pre-emptive Invehicle Driver Monitoring and Feedback Telematics Device during ambulance transport

Methods: Implementation of an aftermarket AIDE - Adaptive Integrated Driver-vehicle InterfacE - an invehicle telematics device with real time pre-emptive driver monitoring and auditory feedback capacity in the setting of two ambulance services was performed. System wide data was collected on parameters pertaining to driver performance, vehicle parameters and safety behaviours for each service during the pre-implementation and implementation period and for a subsequent 18 month period. The data was captured every second, collected daily via infrared download and analysed.

Results: Both services demonstrated system wide major and sustained improvements in safety performance and safety proxies using this eSafety System AIDE, with a 1,000 fold improvement in safety proxies, reduction in crash frequency and severity, and improved emergency response times. There is no standardized methodolgy for identifying system performance from a general transportation safety perspective, thus determining a baseline profile of transportation environment safety challenges and system wide safety hazards for each service is not yet well understood, confounding comprehensive comparative system performance analysis. There is also no accepted categorisation of ambulance crash severity or in determining risk exposure rates for each driver.Patient clincial data is not yet integrated into these devices. Additionally, there exist no standards for the designation of auditory tones to match the specific risks and hazards for which the alerts were targetting.

Conclusions: Safety researchers, IT technical experts and emergency medical service providers and fleet managers should consider use of these devices for both enhancing ambulance safety performance, and augmenting system wide transportation data capture. Development of specific standards to identify characteristic auditory tones would be of benefit. Applications for these telematics devices should be considered for any high risk drivers and other vehicle fleets.