By Jamie Thompson
EMS1 Staff
Of the many hazards medics face, ambulance crashes can be the most common and dangerous – just take a look at the daily news headlines on EMS1 on any given day.
Technologically is one way agencies can look to reduce the number of vehicle-related incidents, and the use of in-vehicle monitoring systems is a growing trend.
One such system on display at EMS World Expo was Idrive, a professional event data recorder system for vehicles which can capture high definition videos, both of the front of the vehicle and the interior, using a dual camera device.
It also records when an event occurs, including accidents, aggressive driving behavior and whether seat belts are used.
“There are a number of different camera options out there, but the bottom line is you need the backend software to be able to grab the data that the camera records and use that to be proactive in changing driving behavior,” said Curt Andrews, Vice President, Sales, at Idrive.
The footage collected by the system when used on an ambulance is stored on internal memory together with other information like G-force values, GPS coordinates, date and time and more, all collected from the device.
It can then be transferred to a base station, where the user can evaluate the footage and can zoom, pan, advance frame by frame, expand video full size, view as full screen and save frame as an image — making it an invaluable training tool.
“One the biggest issues we are dealing with in the emergency services is the high turnover we’re seeing in staffing,” said Andrews, a former EMT and paramedic.
“By having a system such as this, it allows you to use the data to improve your training programs. Also, you’ll be able to see who the better drivers are and know who’s causing the problems — and pay the better ones a little more to keep them at your agency.”
The system, according to Andrews, can lead to modified driver behavior, which in turn translates directly into fewer accidents, lower insurance costs and less vehicle and driver down time.
“If there is a crash, there’ll be no cases of ‘He said, she said’ — you’ll be able to see the full picture in high definition,” Andrews said.
The Idrive X1 strives to revolutionize the industry by bringing to market a highly advanced, user friendly video data recorder that focuses on behavior modification. For more information about the Idrive, visit their official website.