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New Ford Telematics Technology For Police/Public Safety

Say what you will about Smokey, but (s)he’s here to maintain public order and safety for you and me. Now with new technology Ford has developed with Telogis, police departments have a new way to save lives, prevent injuries, and potentially help save millions of taxpayer dollars.

When police officers are involved in an accident, investigators usually remove the police vehicle’s black box and pull data. However, Ford and Telogis have co-developed a telematics solution that makes it possible to monitor police vehicles while operating, meeting the monitoring needs of law enforcement agencies. This industry-first technology provides “intelligent data and analytics” for law enforcement agencies to improve officer safety and driving behavior, heighten situational and operational awareness, and help reduce vehicle maintenance costs.

“We have a responsibility to the communities we serve and to our fellow officers to make safety behind the wheel one of our top priorities,” says the director of police transportation II and commanding officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, Vartan Yegiyan. “The collaborative process that exists with the LAPD, Ford and Telogis has allowed us to customize this solution to meet the unique demands of our organization and other Ford police fleets.”

So for the first time, police can monitor officer location and vehicle operating conditions with the addition of Ford Telematics on Ford Police Interceptor vehicles. While policy usually requires officers to eschew excessive speed and promote safety belt use, an eye into the real-time driving habits of officers should encourage safe driving behaviors and assist in training.

“Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of officer fatalities, and even the slightest improvements in driver training and behavior within law enforcement organizations can potentially save lives,” says Ford’s manager of business and product development, Bill Frykman. “Whether in emergency operation or not, vehicle data from this technology, in context with different driving situations will help illustrate to police organizations where changes can be made that will have a profound effect on officer safety.”

In addition to safety belt use monitoring, the new system builds upon existing capabilities of Ford Crew Chief (powered by Telogis) to provide information into police vehicle lateral acceleration, spins, yaw rates, pursuit mode, accelerator pedal position, brake pedal position, engine torque, antilock braking system events, and stability control and traction control events.

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