Ford and Telogis Team For Police Telematics Tech
Ford and Telogis teamed for a new telematics technology to benefit officers who drive vehicles such as the Explorer Police Interceptor and the Taurus Police Interceptor
Ford continues to work with police departments around the country by developing technologies that aid the men and women in blue in their mission to serve and protect. The latest addition to its body of work is an industry-first telematics system, co-developed with Telogis, which will be able to more easily diagnose LEO vehicle operating conditions.
This technology will not only aid the police in their ability to do their jobs, but it also aims to save taxpayers millions of dollars over time while also keeping drivers everywhere safer and, ultimately, saving lives.
The technology creates data that is transmitted to analytics agencies who will be able to assess the condition of vehicles and the habits of police drivers. This will serve as a means to ensure that all law enforcement officers are abiding by the same rules that they enforce, such as seat belt use and speed limit adherence.
“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,” said Bill Frykman, manager, business and product development, Ford Motor Company. “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.”
Ford notes that between 2004 and 2013, an average of 64 police officers died every year in traffic-related incidents compared to an average of 55 officers killed in firearms-related incidents.
“Traffic-related incidents have been the leading cause of law enforcement fatalities in 14 of the last 16 years,” said Craig W. Floyd, National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund chairman and CEO. “Leveraging technology to improve law enforcement vehicle safety is integral to reducing the number of officers killed in traffic-related incidents each year.”
The new telematics system will be able to monitor the use of safety belts, lateral acceleration, spins, yaw rates, pursuit mode, accelerator pedal and brake pedal position, torque, ABS events, and stability and traction control events. From this information, the analytics agencies can provide officers with driving report cards based on their tendencies on the road.
The Ford and Telogis-developed tech joins Surveillance Mode in a long line of contributions Ford has made to making police officers safer.
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