U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Announces Public-Private Partnership To Improve Emergency Response and Save Lives
21 July 2000
National Mayday Readiness Initiative Effort Aims to Efficiently Integrate Mayday and Automatic Crash Notification Systems With Public Responders
WASHINGTON - United States Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater
officially kicked off The National Mayday Readiness Initiative during his
keynote address to the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative conference here today.
"The National Mayday Readiness Initiative provides us with a rare and
important opportunity to integrate emerging life-saving technologies with
public sector responders, so we can be proactive and prevent needless injuries
and deaths on our nation's highways," Secretary Slater said. "This initiative
will help improve safety, which is President Clinton and Vice President Gore's
highest transportation priority."
The National Mayday Readiness Initiative is co-sponsored by the United
States Department of Transportation and the ComCARE Alliance. The program is
supported by a grant from the General Motors Corporation.
NMRI is a public-private process to help make Mayday and Automatic Crash
Notification systems being deployed by leading automotive companies work
better with those who respond to them. These technologies automatically
notify a commercial call center when an airbag deploys or an emergency call
button is pushed. ACN helps save lives by providing emergency responders with
immediate notification that a crash has occurred, its exact location,
information about the vehicle, and a wireless voice link with the victim.
Already, more than 200,000 cars are equipped with some form of Mayday or
Automatic Crash Notification system today, such as GM's OnStar. More than 11
million total are expected to be on the road by year 2004.
NMRI's goal is to integrate properly automobile Mayday and ACN
technologies and information from commercial call centers with public safety,
EMS, law enforcement, and transportation agencies. In addition to saving
lives, these systems can improve law enforcement and enhance traffic flow on
highways through better incident management as well.
"Instead of reacting after the fact or with a government regulation, NMRI
presents a unique process for the key stakeholders to voluntarily reach
consensus on improving how these life-saving technologies interface with
today's and tomorrow's emergency and transportation systems," K. Sue Hoyt, an
emergency nurse and Chair of ComCARE said. The ComCARE Alliance is a public-
private coalition of more than 50 organizations working to enhance public
safety utilizing wireless technologies, and is spearheading the NMRI effort
with USDOT. Hoyt added, "We are grateful to USDOT and General Motors for
their leadership and commitment to this worthy program."
Dozens of corporations and organizations are represented in the NMRI
process, representing millions of emergency responders and consumers across
America. Among the private sector participants is OnStar.
"Millions of vehicles incorporating automatic collision notification
systems will be sold over the next few years so it is important that public
and private organizations coordinate their efforts to provide emergency
assistance to drivers. OnStar and General Motors are delighted to be a
sponsor of and participate in the National Mayday Readiness Initiative,"
remarked Chet Huber, President of OnStar.
Representing the nation's 9-1-1 officials who dispatch help based on
information they receive from commercial call centers is Norm Forshee, ENP,
President of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
"The new technologies and relationships involved in the NMRI project are
extremely important to the effective operation of 9-1-1 systems throughout the
country. This project provides the National Emergency Number Association
(NENA) membership with the opportunity to form relationships with the public
and private sectors. These relationships should result in a coordinated
interface between the technologies involved and 9-1-1 operations, thereby
providing enhanced access to life-saving services," Mr. Forshee said.
More About NMRI
NMRI is a public-private partnership aimed at creating effective,
efficient integration between private Mayday service providers, and the
nation's public emergency responders and incident managers. Mayday and ACN
systems, sold under brands such as OnStar, Tele-Aid, Communicator, RESPONSE,
Rescu, etc. link vehicles equipped with these technologies to commercial call
centers. When an airbag deploys or an emergency call button is pushed, call
center specialists help determine the type of assistance needed and, when
necessary, contact the most appropriate emergency response agency to respond
accordingly.
The National Mayday Readiness Initiative is bringing together all of the
key stakeholders to discuss and work toward resolving the issues between the
public and private sectors. NMRI is the first in a series of coordinated
activities under the sponsorship of USDOT's Joint Program Office Public Safety
Program.
