Story originally posted by Leah Rainwater at KOMU 8

HOLTS SUMMIT, MO. — The Holts Summit Fire Protection District (HSFPD) started using a new emergency vehicle warning system, HAAS Alert, last week. 

The system is designed to alert drivers who own Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Ram vehicles, 2018 or newer, or utilize Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or Waze navigation systems.

Brock Aun, vice president of communications and public policy at HAAS Alert, said its Safety Cloud platform enables an alert when HSFPD vehicles are ahead or enroute.

"It enables assets in those [emergency] vehicles to alert drivers in their vehicles to slow down and move over when they're approaching them," Aun said. 

When a HSFPD vehicle has its lights and sirens activated, the alert will appear on a nearby vehicle's navigation screen and on the driver's cell phone.

According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the leading cause of death for EMS responders and law enforcement officers are traffic incidents.

Aun says HAAS Alert is trying to do everything they can to make sure the system is accessible to everyone.

"Nationwide, there's over 3,000 public safety agencies and emergency response fleets that use Safety Cloud everyday," Aun said. "And that is in all 50 states in the country."

Brad O'Neal, spokesperson for the HSFPD, says there's a common misconception people have about the system.

"It's not like an Amber Alert system," O'Neal said. "You're not going to get a mass notification with a loud alert at 3 o'clock in the morning while you're sleeping in bed that there's an emergency vehicle in your neighborhood. It's designed primarily for highway use."

O'Neal also says there's some concerns for the system as well.

"People think that we're beaming a radio signal from our apparatus into their personal vehicle," O'Neal said. "Invading their privacy, shutting down their car computer so that they can't drive through a scene. It couldn't be farther from the truth."

The department has gotten some positive comments from the community on the alert system. 

"As a hard of hearing person this is going to be super helpful to all of us HOH/deaf drivers who can’t hear sirens and aren’t close enough to the scene yet to see the lights! This is awesome!' one comment on Facebook said. 

Aun says HAAS is currently working on ways to make the emergency alert system compatible with more vehicles. 

HSFPD said the implementation of the HAAS Alert is thanks to a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation. 

About HAAS Alert

HAAS Alert makes roads and communities safer by delivering digital alerts from emergency response and other municipal fleets to nearby drivers. The company streams real-time alerts and other vital safety information to motorists and connected cars via in-vehicle and navigation systems when emergency vehicles are approaching and on-scene. For emergency response and roadway fleets interested in joining the Safety Cloud, click below to get equipped.

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