With the help of new technology, the Callaway County Ambulance District hopes to make patient transportation safer.
The CCAD Board of Directors approved purchase of the Road Safety vehicle monitoring system during Tuesday night's regular meeting.
"It's basically a driver modification program designed to create a safer environment for drivers, for passengers and for the public, as well as provide cost savings because of the change in driving habits," explained Zoll representative Scott Foster. Zoll is the company that makes the Road Safety system.
Foster shared a couple of short videos demonstrating how Road Safety works - using clicking sounds to warn drivers of excessive speed or g-force when accelerating, turning, braking or backing up. The clicking escalates to tones as the driver exceeds the designated safety thresholds.
Zoll consultant Dave McGowan, who was the director of the Health East hospital system in St. Paul, Minn. when it implemented Road Safety, shared his hospital's experience with the system.
McGowan said before Road Safety, Health East ambulance drivers averaged 1.5 crashes per month, including two major crashes in the early 2000s - one of which was a fatality. He said after putting the system in its ambulances, Health East saw a dramatic drop in the number of preventable crashes.
"I was director for eight years, and we only had two preventable crashes in that time," he said.