Changing Response By OnStar Information

[Guest bibbles10504]

I was just looking at Firehouse.com and found this article. I am wondering if anyone thinks it will work as good as they say it will, and if it will affect what kind of response there is to the call.

GM's OnStar to Alert Emergency Crews

Story by clickondetroit.com

General Motors is teaming up with the Centers For Disease Control to help victims get faster and better care.

Local 4 business editor Rod Meloni said OnStar comes standard on new GM cars and trucks, and soon it will do more than get directions or call for help.

Meloni said it will actually tell emergency crews what kind of help is needed.

In the next year, OnStar's highly trained assistance operators will send their satellite-delivered technology to the Centers For Disease Control to help them offer emergency crews lifesaving data.

"A call will literally send a crash signature to say how bad the crash was," OnStar's Chet Huber explained. "What were the angles of force? Were they from the side, the front, the back? How bad was the accident? Did it roll over or not?"

Rescue crews will instantaneously know exactly which equipment to send and what kinds of medical teams to have on stanby at the right hospital.

"Being able to shorten the response time is terrific," Huber said. "But if you could give us that next step it really could change the game

from

www.firehouse.com

Edited March 23, 2007 by bibbles10504

[capt2102 64]

I just recieved a new Duty car with On Star. The old one didn't have it. I realized a great use for the On Star is that you can park the vehicle at a location, punch On Star and the operator will give your GPS location. On a vehicle accident site or Patient transfer by Heliocopter it's great for the pilot to have GPS numbers for where you want them to land, especially if they are not from the Westchester area.

[Oswegowind 17]

As a dispatcher, I have dealt with onstar. Problem is that when people press there emergency buttons accidentally and then turn off the car, they send the police to the last known area but are often unable to gain contact with the vehicle once again. This sends us on a wild goose chase...have had a few of these in the Yonkers. I don't know if this will really help our industry. BMW has called in jobs in which there was airbag deployment on an auto accident and given us the location...usual faster than cell 911! Also like MB USA's features...very similar to BMW with the airbag deployment...but I believe they called in a roll over once...kind of cool.