Collaboration will enable automakers and commercial fleets to equip vehicles with a fully-automated vehicle escape system that allows occupants to safely exit a vehicle during submersions, while instantaneously transmitting intelligent crash data to 9-1-1 first responders.
NEWPORT BEACH, CA and MONTREAL, QC – September 20, 2022 – Automotive 9-1-1 software provider Roadside Telematics Corp. (RTC) announced today during Emergency Response Day at ITS World Congress 2022 it has joined forces with Canada-based AWOS Technologies Inc. creator of AWOS, the leading technical solution to submersion sensing and automatic lowering of electric side windows.
Under this new partnership, automakers and commercial fleets, including public, private, and emergency response vehicle fleets, will be provided the opportunity to equip vehicles with the AWOS fully-automated vehicle escape system that allows occupants to safely exit a vehicle during submersions, while instantaneously transmitting intelligent crash data to 9-1-1 first responders via RTC’s Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) RoadMedic® Intelligent Crash Data Platform.
“We’re excited to partner with RTC and the contribution it makes to the safety of vehicle occupants and 9-1-1 emergency response teams alike,” said Shawn Percher, President of AWOS Technologies. “By including vehicle submersion passive safety sensor technology in our portfolio of NG911 emergency response capabilities, we recognize the growing importance of vehicle submersion solutions in connected vehicles and fleets”, said Lawrence E. Williams, founder and CEO of RTC.
“I’m pleased to see new technologies emerging in vehicle submersion fatality reduction that can save even more lives,” said Doug Campbell, President of the Automotive Safety Council. “As the world looks for ways to reach the vision zero goal in automotive safety, previously overlooked fatality causes are now coming to light. Vehicle submersion fatalities is one such cause.” In recognition of the risk of submersion to occupant safety, and to motivate automakers to integrate solutions to vehicle submersion, Euro NCAP and ANCAP (Australasia) have recently introduced new Rescue and Extrication safety ratings starting in 2023.
Vehicle submersion carries one of the highest fatality rates for single-vehicle accidents. Every year in the USA, approximately 11,000 land motor vehicle accidents involving submersion result in up to 400 fatalities. The cause of death isn’t always trauma, but rather drowning due to entrapment. Speed is the key to survival. Occupants have less than 60 seconds to exit through the side windows. Panic causes people to waste time on the wrong actions, which includes placing calls to 9-1-1 for help.
“The AWOS escape system, coupled with RTC’s NG911 RoadMedic Intelligent Crash Data Platform, will detect a submersion event and automatically open windows, and instantaneously transmit crash data to 9-1-1 enabling faster dispatch of emergency response teams to the scene to do what they do best – rescue people, so occupants can focus on getting out rather than calling 911”, said Percher.
Modern vehicles have certain features that trap people in the event of submersion: water pressure prevents doors from opening, electronic safety systems can fail early in water and laminate glass side windows are shatter-resistant and can make vehicle escape impossible for occupants and emergency responders alike. A study by the American Automobile Association (AAA) highlights that 33% of new vehicles sold in the US since 2018 use laminated glass windows which traditional window-breaking tools fail to break.
According to Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, founder of Operation ALIVE and creator of emergency response protocols used in 60% of the English-speaking world, “AWOS will save many lives by automatically providing occupants with an exit from a sinking vehicle”. Dr. Giesbrecht has performed over 100 human vehicle submersions and published peer-reviewed research on the topic. His protocols are used by the Fire Priority Dispatch System™(FPDS®), International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED®), and the Police and Medical Priority Dispatch Systems™ (PPDS®).
RTC’s RoadMedic Intelligent Crash Data Platform connects over six thousand emergency communication centers, more than eighteen thousand public safety response agencies and a quarter of a million police car terminals in the USA. The RoadMedic proprietary data platform, embedded in the vehicle’s operating system, combines artificial intelligence with machine learning to process and harmonize crash sensor data efficiently, securely and rapidly at the car’s edge. This streamlined, real-time data is then transmitted directly to 9-1-1 computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems.
“We’re very proud to welcome AWOS Technologies as our newest RoadMedic ecosystem strategic partner as we continue RTC’s journey empowering automakers and commercial fleet operators to increase safety, reduce NG911 emergency services deployment costs, and shorten time-to-market for NG911 life-saving emergency response capabilities”, said Williams.
About RoadMedic® (Roadside Telematics Corporation)
Founded in 2001, and based in Newport Beach, CA, Roadside Telematics Corp, (RTC) is trusted by Automotive OEMs globally for providing Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) mission critical connected car solutions for 9-1-1 Public Safety. RTC’s patented intelligent crash data platform, RoadMedic®, combines artificial intelligence and machine learning to process crash sensor data efficiently and securely at the car’s edge with (far) less computing power, and then literally within seconds, transmits intelligent crash sensor data instantly to NG911 computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems. In doing so, RTC eliminates the cost, complexity, and compliance inefficiencies that automakers would otherwise need to solve to seamlessly integrate and interface intelligent crash sensor data with NG911 public safety and first responders during 9-1-1 emergencies at roadside. RoadMedic is the de facto NG911 public safety industry standard that is Telematics Service Provider (TSP)-agnostic; partnering with the world’s leading automakers and tier-one suppliers. For more information, visit www.roadmedic.com or connect on Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram
Media:
Shane Smith, Pacific Communications Group on behalf of Roadside Telematics Corp.
About AWOS Technologies Inc.
Founded in 2011 and based in Montreal, Quebec, AWOS Technologies is the creator of the patented AWOS Vehicle Escape System designed to prevent drowning in passenger vehicles. AWOS rapidly detects submersion and automatically lowers all side powers windows, enabling passengers to exit, and automatically notifying emergency responders. It is the only system optimized for both upright and inverted submersion and can be installed on new and used passenger vehicles. AWOS Technologies is a supporting member of the Automotive Safety Council and actively promotes vehicle occupant safety with automakers, suppliers and regulatory stakeholders. For more information, visit www.awostech.com or connect on LinkedIn and Facebook.
(Note: Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, the driver in the AWOS video, does not have financial interests in AWOS Technologies.)
Media:
Sabrina Percher sabrina.percher@awostech.com
Investors:
Shawn-Patrick Percher shawn.percher@awostech.com