Real-time data could help car wreck victims

[Porsha911gt3 8]

Real-time data could help car wreck victims

WASHINGTON (AP) -- General Motors Corp.'s OnStar service is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help emergency responders more effectively treat crash victims.

On Wednesday, the automaker was scheduled to announce a partnership with U.S. health officials to create guidelines, expected in 2008, for the use of real-time crash data to help emergency services provide a more targeted response to those injured in a car accident.

GM's OnStar system alerts emergency rescue officials when an air bag deploys or the vehicle is struck in a moderate to severe crash. Subscribers can also receive driving directions, roadside assistance and other services.

Emergency responders could benefit from the OnStar system because its sensors transmit real-time data pinpointing where a vehicle was struck, whether it rolled over or if it was hit several times.

That type of precision can help emergency officials make the "absolutely critical decision" of whether to send a crash victim to a Level I trauma center, which provides the highest level of trauma care, said Dr. Richard Hunt, who leads the CDC's division of injury response at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

"It will save lives and dollars in making sure that the right people get to the right institutions with the right care," said Charles Stokes, the president and chief executive of the CDC Foundation, adding that the approach could "change the face of emergency medicine over time."

The collaboration was developed through a $250,000 grant from the General Motors Foundation, the company said. The CDC will review real-time crash data from OnStar to help improve emergency transportation and the treatment of crash victims.

OnStar, a subsidiary of GM, is standard on about two-thirds of 2007 model year GM vehicles and will be included on most 2008 vehicles. As an option, it costs $695, which includes the hardware and first year's subscription fee.

After the first year, the subscription price is $16.95 a month or $199 annually. OnStar officials say the retention rate for their service is more than 60 percent.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[x242Steve 1]

I don't really see how this will be any more or less helpful to Emergency responders than the current OnStar system, which already detects rollovers and airbag deployments.

I cannot see a day when a little computer in a vehicle is going to determine what type of care facility a patient is sent to. I would hope that will remain to be determined by the Medics on scene based on mechanism, patient condition and nearby facilities/resources.

OnStar related question: Do you send Fire/EMS on an OnStar airbag/rollover notification without phone-call backup? Or do you send PD first to investigate? Would it depend on the place and time?

In other words, if its noon on a Wednesday and you get an OnStar airbag/rollover notification that shows coordinates in the middle of your business district, wouldn't you expect the phones to start lighting up? On the other hand, at 3am in the middle of the woods, would you start out Fire/EMS?

For dispatchers: Does your CAD or GeoMapping system have the ability to plug in Latitude/Longitude coordinates that you receive from OnStar so you can confirm the approximate street location that they give you? And do you make sure to get the vehicle information (Year/Make/Model/Color and VIN) from the OnStar operator?

Two OnStar stories...

1) I have taken a few phone calls from OnStar for activations from the area of a Stamford car wash, which were apparently caused by the guys detailing the interior pressing the emergency button.

2) Supposedly, one department received a rollover activation that turned into a Stolen Vehicle... Apparently the car thieves knew of the OnStar system's tracking ability, and therefore ripped out the OnStar box and threw it out of the car (causing the box to rollover, activating the rollover switch... I suppose the OnStar box has built-in battery backup) I was told that officers sent to the area found broken glass and the OnStar box sitting in the road. (This could certainly be an EmergServ Urban Legend)

Edited March 21, 2007 by 242steve