As many officers can attest, and as statistics demonstrate, it doesn’t take a high-speed pursuit or armed confrontation to make the roadways dangerous, even during routine police work.

Fortunately, there are products and systems available to help officers stay safe in their vehicles and get back to the office safely, without unnecessary time or effort spent in the field or on installation.

One pressing safety problem officers face is the increasing risk of being struck by motorists during traffic stops or while responding to an incident along the roadway. According to data from the Emergency Responder Safety Institute, 20 police officers have died in “struck-by” collisions in 2021 alone.¹ The issue may be exacerbated by distracted drivers—a phenomenon that is unlikely to reverse any time soon.

One way to address this problem is Safety Cloud, an easy-to-use transponder that attaches to any light bar, with no additional tools or software required.

“Safety Cloud is about protecting first responders on the roadway,” said Brock Aun, director of communications for HAAS Alert, the Chicago-based company that developed Safety Cloud. “It’s about providing drivers with advance warning that there’s a hazard or an incident ahead of them, so they have more time to slow down and move over.”²

The transponder provides a digital warning system for oncoming motorists using the popular Waze navigation app, along with similar apps or systems. When a vehicle’s lights are activated, so is Safety Cloud. According to Aun, the transponder takes just 30 minutes to install.

“It’s equippable on any police vehicle, regardless of make or model or the type of light bar,” Aun explained. “When officers activate their light bar, it automatically delivers and distributes alerts to approaching drivers through smartphone apps and navigation platforms and connected vehicle systems. This was built to be platform-agnostic. We’ve learned that departments want minimal complications with installation, and they want it to be a passive solution, meaning they don’t want to take a bunch of extra steps while they’re in the field.”

There also are versions of Safety Cloud that are customizable for covert operations or for responder-to-responder warnings, rather than strictly responder-to-motorist.

But does it work? The data indicate that systems like Safety Cloud can make a real difference. A recent study from Purdue University found that Safety Cloud reduced hard braking by 80 percent.³ Further, Aun estimated that roughly 95 percent of Safety Cloud users report a safer environment as a result of using the transponder.

“Public safety agencies that are using us tell us anecdotally that they’ve noticed an enormous improvement in drivers moving over,” said Aun.

Vehicle accessories can help create a safer environment even when vehicles aren’t in motion. For example, proper cleaning and sterilization is top of mind with the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing. That’s where the innovative ozone, ultraviolet (UV-C) radiation, and air purification technologies designed by FirstResponder/Genlantis come into play.

“What we do is we offer sterilization solutions,” said Bill Hall, director of business development for FirstResponder/Genlantis, which is headquartered in San Diego, California. “We mainly offer ozone and UV-C products that have no chemicals whatsoever. Exposure to chemicals is not ideal, which is why we use ozone and UV-C light.”⁴

One of the company’s most innovative products is the Spider UV-C sterilizer, which uses ultraviolet light to sterilize vehicles and other relatively small spaces. The FirstResponder Sterilizer, a patented sterilization system using ozone, can destroy 99.9 percent of COVID, MRSA, C. difficile, influenza, hepatitis, and roughly 650 other pathogens that can cause illness. The product also helps control odors within a vehicle—an important consideration in its own right.

While they’re mainly used in vehicles, the sterilization tools can be used from the locker room to the courtroom, Hall explained. Because they don’t employ chemicals, these tools are safer both during and after the cleaning process. It also has the added perk of being easier on the environment.

“Agencies love to use it because it’s green,” Hall said. “It’s better for the environment than chemicals, as well as being safer.”

Of course, safety on the road means getting dangerous drivers off the road. One of the most notorious sources of unsafe driving is alcohol impairment. With more than 200,000 units sold to date, the Alco-Sensor FST is the industry standard for preliminary breath-testing instruments. The unit was created by Intoximeters, Inc., based in St. Louis, Missouri, which manufactures desktop, portable, and handheld breath alcohol testing instruments.

“This evidential grade direct breath alcohol tester produces precise, accurate, and repeatable results,” said Philip Simmons, head of sales and marketing, for Intoximeters, Inc. “It also offers a simple passive breath tester procedure for fast screening of multiple subjects, as well as the capacity to ‘sniff’ alcohol in an open container by measuring the headspace over the liquid.”⁵

The Alco-Sensor FST works quickly and efficiently—both critical in situations where officers may be at risk.

“Handheld breath test devices are often used in an uncontrolled environment,” said Simmons. “Frequently they are enlisted at the side of the road, most often at night and sometimes with a combative suspect. Designing the device to be easy to use with a form factor and operating protocol that reduces danger to the operator was a need that Intoximeters identified and met.”

Preventing vehicle theft also is a key safety concern for many agencies. This is particularly true given that many officers often leave cars running for various reasons and for extended periods of time. IdleLock, a tool developed by LGS Group, stops thefts before they start.

“IdleLock is basically theft prevention, where the officer can leave his or her vehicle running with lights, sirens, radio, or what have you, and know that the vehicle is secure,” said Bob Van Ee, national sales manager for LGS Group, which is based in Reno, Nevada. “Police vehicles are stolen all the time. Depending on the situation, an officer may not remember to put the vehicle in the Park position and remember to press a button. With IdleLock, as soon as the key fob leaves the vehicle, we lock it in Park automatically.”⁶

Sometimes even the installation of a vehicle accessory can seem daunting or downright dangerous. However, IdleLock plugs directly into a vehicle’s OBD-2 port, so it’s a snap to use.

“There’s no need to cut wires,” said Van Ee. “It’s completely plug-and-play. The install’s always a big deal when we talk to customers, and the simple installation makes officers feel more comfortable. It feels a lot safer, more secure, and more professional for them.”

To achieve safety and satisfaction, listening to officers and being responsive to their needs and concerns is paramount. That’s an essential part of the process at FMS Solutions, LLC, a company based in St Johns, Florida. The company offers accessories for law enforcement agencies that use BMW vehicles and creates special products for other vehicle makes, including top-selling products like the assault rifle and laptop pivot mounts.

“Our job is to get things done for the officers,” said Frank Stevens, managing partner of FMS Solutions. “We want to have empathy, but we want to listen and engineer solutions to their requests. We keep our ear to the market, and we encourage feedback from as many sources as we can get. The biggest thing any company can do is listen to their customers. Motor officers give incredibly detailed feedback. Then we engineer accessories and devices with the notion that the worst possible thing is going to happen, and that this device doesn’t cause or enhance any injury to the officer.”⁷

Notes:

¹Emergency Safety Responder Institute, “Map of U.S. Struck-By LODDs,” interactive map.

²Brock Aun (director of communications, HAAS Alert), phone interview, September 30, 2021.

³Haas Alert, “Digital Alerting Helps Reduce Hard Braking by 80% in Purdue University Study,” press release, September 17, 2021.

⁴Bill Hall (director of business development, FirstResponder/Genlantis), phone interview, September 28, 2021.

⁵Philip Simmons (head of sales and marketing, Intoximeters), email interview, October 4, 2021.

⁶Bob Van Ee (national sales manager, LGS Group), phone interview, September 23, 2021.

⁷Frank Stevens (managing partner, FMS Solutions), phone interview, September 29, 2021.