Ford has introduced a new telematics system for its Police Interceptor vehicles, providing live monitoring capabilities for so-called ‘black box’ data.
The technology builds upon Ford’s Crew Chief service, developed through a partnership with Telogis. The available data has been specifically geared for law-enforcement agencies, however, allowing administrators to keep track of officers’ driving behavior.
Agencies can view vehicle speed, seat-belt use, lateral acceleration, spins, yaw rates, use of pursuit mode, accelerator pedal position, brake pedal position, engine torque, antilock braking system events and stability/traction control events. The system can also provide an individualized score-card for each officer, automatically processing the input data.
The company notes that traffic-related incidents have accounted for an average of 64 officer fatalities each year, higher than the 55 officers killed each year due to firearms incidents. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found that nearly half of all officers killed in traffic crashes were not wearing their seat belt.
“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,” said Ford product manager Bill Frykman.