More Than One Man Can Fix

Brian Tegtmeyer has been coordinator of the National 911 Program for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for two years. During that time he has made himself something of a lightning rod for efforts intended to improve crash response protocols and, more specifically, crash response times.

With his background in public safety and as an instructor for the National Emergency Number Association, few are as qualified or as knowledgeable as Tegtmeyer when it comes to understanding the scope of the problem and the formidable barriers to potential progress. In spite of that knowledge, he has leapt to the battlements showing up at or actually setting up meetings to bring together the far flung constituents behind the business of crash response.

Tegtmeyer has brought auto makers to the table with telematics service providers, public service access administrators, regulatory authorities, technology providers, regulators, and politicians. But one of the most effective messages he has delivered is conveyed in the figures in the graphic illustration above this post.

Of the 42,514 people who died in traffic crashes in 2022, 42% were alive when first responders arrived.

The numbers are terrifying - but they simultaneously point to the source of a remedy. When you are looking to solve problems such as the U.S. 100-people/day highway crash death toll, you immediately look to low hanging fruit. It's true that impaired driving represents one third of the total - which explains the U.S. government's regulatory interest in the integration of impairment detection technology. It's also true that distracted driving has been implicated in thousands of fatalities annually.

Tegtmeyer is telling anyone who will listen that it is the crash response itself where improvement is necessary. Responders need to get to the scene faster. They need better information regarding what has occurred and what tools or technology they will need. They may even need more sophisticated or effective means for delivering blood plasma to the event.

Industry organizations are sitting up and taking notice and trying to figure out how to help. The Center for Automotive Research has leaned in with resources and has hosted events. The Connected Vehicle Systems Alliance (COVESA) has organized a Birds-of-a-Feather group to sort out issues regarding standards, software and wireless protocols, and other points of collaboration for its members, which include car makers and service and technology providers.

But Brian needs one more thing that he hasn't found. He hasn't found an industry advocate of sufficient stature to gather together all of the relevant parties, sort out the shortcomings of current systems, and drive change.

It's true that the Federal Communications Commission has raised its hand to advocate on behalf of satellite technology to be leveraged for emergency response and NHTSA, itself, is pushing Internet protocol-based communications as part of NextGen 911. But the wider automotive industry is waiting for a car company, a wireless carrier, or a semiconductor company to step forward and carry the flag forward.

Fundamentally, it's a competitive opportunity. The organization that takes the lead in this messaging will be in position to redefine vehicle safety with all of vast brand burnishing and market advantage that that implies. (Especially in the context of a rogue EV manufacturer routinely absolving itself of fatal crash responsibilities and, to this day, failing to integrate a crash response system in its cars sold in the U.S.)

What is required is implementation leadership intended to educate the general public while delivering an actual value-enhancing and life-saving solution to the market. Every auto maker with an automatic crash notification system is at the table - or nearly ever. Now it's time for action.

The parade is already in motion - assembled by Brian Tegtmeyer at NHTSA. All that remains is for a leader from a key industry sector - intelligent highways (ITS), wireless carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile), semiconductor companies (Nvidia, Intel, Qualcomm), departments of transportation, car companies (GM, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, etc.) - to step out in front of the parade. The promised land of enhanced crash response awaits. One man cannot deliver us alone.