Copyright 2005 P.G. Publishing Co.
Accountability is goal of the program
By JIM McMAHON
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
Video cameras are common in police vehicles, but now, because of a safety program sponsored by the Emergency Medical Service Institute, they are being installed in ambulances and other emergency response vehicles.
The cameras are used to monitor and improve driver behavior and record incidents inside and outside the vehicle.
Statistics show that ambulances are one of the most often damaged vehicles on the road; in Pennsylvania, one ambulance is involved in some type of accident each day, according to the EMSI.
“It has been a very positive program that has put more accountability on the street,” said Lt. Todd Plunkett, of the Baldwin Emergency Medical Services, which was one of a dozen services across the county to participate in a two-month trial.
Three vehicles were equipped with the unit, produced by DriveCam Inc., a San Diego company, and Lt. Plunett said cameras would be installed in the other seven vehicles within a month.
He said the Baldwin service’s accident rate was low, but did not give statistics.
Tom McElree, director of the Emergency Medical Services Institute, based in Wilkinsburg, said the camera program was one component of a two-year initiative designed to provide better safety in all aspects of response.
The institute is a regional emergency council under the Pennsylvania Department of Health office of emergency medical services, which oversees the training, licensing and certification of pre-hospital medical care and the services which provide it.
It covers 147 ambulance services, two medical helicopter flight programs and some 5,000 emergency medical professionals in a 10-county area of southwestern Pennsylvania that stretches north to Mercer County and east to Somerset County.
The cameras, which cost $1,200 each and are being provided through a $350,000 state grant, are being offered to ambulance services on a voluntary basis, with each participating service permitted to keep the units after one year.
The small camera, mounted in the front of the vehicle, records a 20-second loop of activity outside the vehicle and in the driver’s compartment when activated by a sudden stop, a sharp turn or any other jarring movement. The camera also can be turned on manually.
Data sent to the EMSI by participating services as part of the program has shown a dramatic improvement in driving habits.
“The number of times the camera is being activated has declined dramatically,” said Mr. McElree, who has volunteered as an EMT with the Baldwin service since 1995.
“The ambulance driver, the patient and the person on the street all benefit from the use of the camera,” Mr. Plunkett said.
Although some drivers initially expressed apprehension about the cameras possibly being used for disciplinary purposes, they liked the equipment as use went on, Mr. McElree said.
In addition to improving driving habits, Nora Helfrich, director of the Tri-Community South Emergency Medical Services, another participant, said other benefits included decreased vehicle maintenance costs and better liability determination.
“It’s a wonderful educational program that will greatly benefit our service,” said Ms. Helfrich, who hopes to install cameras in the service’s eight vehicles. Tri-Community provides service to Bethel Park, South Park and Upper St. Clair.
Other South emergency units participating in the camera program include Elizabeth Township and Jefferson Hills.