KC Scout Joins Bi-State Technology Effort to Alert Motorists to Slow Down, Move Over when Emergency Responders are Working Along their Route
KANSAS CITY – If you use the WAZE connected vehicle APP in the Kansas City metro, you are about to get some MORE real-time information to help scout your routes. Missouri and Kansas have joined a program designed to alert motorists via the WAZE APP when they are approaching emergency response vehicles actively helping motorists. All 11 MoDOT Emergency Response Vehicles and one KC Scout maintenance vehicle in Kansas City, as well as 19 Kansas Highway Patrol Motorist Assist vehicles across Kansas, will utilize the service.
This digital alerting service is powered by HAAS Alert, a Chicago-based company with a real-time, collision prevention service that is currently used by almost one hundred fleets across the US and Canada. Emergency Response vehicles will have a small HAAS Alert device installed that uses GPS and cellular technologies to precisely track and transmit vehicle location data to the HAAS Alert Safety Cloud™. When the vehicles’ emergency lights are activated, the Safety Cloud sends the digital alerts to nearby motorists, providing them with advance warning and enough time to safely slow down and change lanes in compliance with Kansas’ Move Over Law and Missouri’s Move Over, Slow Down law.
Collisions and struck-by incidents rank as leading causes of death for firefighters and police officers, despite active “Move Over” laws in nearly every state and lights and sirens on emergency vehicles. These First Responders, along with EMS, motorist assistance vehicles, tow trucks, and other roadside workers, face significant danger and harm every time they respond to an emergency on the side of the road.
“We are excited to be part of this new technology partnership. Aware and informed drivers are safe drivers, and HAAS Alert provides a simple and effective way to keep everyone on the road more informed in real-time,” said Randy Johnson, KC Scout Manager. “Our emergency response operators spend 24-hours a day on the road helping motorists. Their safety and the safety of the traveling public are a top priority.”
KC Scout also recently partnered with WAZE this year as part of the Connected Citizen Program which allows Scout operators to input traffic data to reach WAZE users and create a more comprehensive picture of potential traffic delays.
KC Scout is Kansas City's bi-state traffic management system, designed to lessen traffic jams by improving rush-hour speeds, increasing safety by decreasing the number of rush-hour accidents and improving emergency response to traffic situations by clearing incidents quickly and safely. Scout manages traffic on more than a thousand miles of continuous freeway across Kansas and Missouri.
Learn more about KC Scout at http://www.kcscout.net. Follow KC Scout on twitter at twitter.com/kansascityscout, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KansasCityScout.