DRAFT-_SOO_2-_Emergency_Response_Vehicle_Warning_for_Civilians.pdf

Emergency Response Vehicle Warning for Civilians Statement of Objectives

February 13, 2017 Science and Technology Directorate Department of Homeland Security

DISTRIBUTION NOTICE: Further dissemination only as directed by DHS Office of Policy DESTRUCTION NOTICE: Destroy by any method that will prevent disclosure of contents or reconstruction of the document.

Emergency Response Vehicle Warning for Civilians Statement of Objectives February 13, 2017

Table of Contents

1.0 Problem Statement

2.0 Purpose and Scope

3.0 Background Environment

3.1 Mission Scenarios

3.2 Current Technology Shortfalls and Threats

4.0 Potential Solution Attributes

4.1 Concept of Operations (CONOPS)

5.0 Solution Capabilities and Requirements

5.1 Must Have Requirements (Key Performance Parameters, KPP’s)

5.2 Desirable Capabilities or Characteristics

6.0 System Support

6.1 Period and Place of Performance

6.2 Contract Deliverables

6.3 Transition Requirements

6.4 Regulatory/Legal Requirements

6.5 System Affordability

6.7 Support Concept

6.8 Training

6.9 Other Considerations

6.10 Storage and Maintenance

1.0 Problem Statement

Currently, emergency response vehicles use lights and sirens as a way to communicate their proximity to civilians and other first responders while navigating roadways to and from an incident site. Lights and sirens only succeed as a method of communication if the emergency vehicle is in close proximity, or within line of sight and hearing (i.e., to see the lights and hear the siren/horn). Atmospheric conditions play against the use of lights as an efficient warning mechanism in the presence of heavy rain or snow, because these conditions can reduce the distance at which a line-of-sight system will be effective.1 In addition, drivers can be distracted by competing loud conversations or loud music from a radio or earphones, or be unable to see emergency lights due to wearing sunglasses, etc. Further, the short period of time available to alert others of an emergency vehicle’s proximity can result in limited time for drivers to react and can lead to collisions between emergency response vehicles and civilian vehicles.

First responders, primarily those in the emergency medical services (EMS), law enforcement (LE), and fire communities need the ability to warn civilians of their presence when they are driving in emergency mode. This was recognized as a critical capability gap in the DHS Project Responder 4 (PR4) report where subject matter experts noted the need for the following communications and logistics requirement: “The capability to seamlessly and dynamically connect multiple persons/entities and convey meaningful and actionable information to all relevant parties”.2 This capability gap was reconfirmed and identified as high priority during the 2016 First Responder Resource Group (FRRG) meeting held in July in Washington, DC.

2.0 Purpose and Scope

This technology solution shall notify civilian drivers of approaching emergency vehicles from a distance that ensures they are aware of an oncoming emergency vehicle in enough time to safely react. Additionally, the notification shall only be broadcast while the emergency vehicle is in “emergency mode,” that is, while lights and/or sirens are engaged, or when the solution is turned

on. This solution will be able to be activated concurrently with lights and siren activation and will always have the option of being disengaged (i.e., responders will have the option to turn off proximity notifications but still use their sirens and/or lights).

3.0 Background Environment

Presently, emergency response vehicles alert other drivers and pedestrians of their proximity using lights and sirens. Lights are limited as a means of communication as light does not bend around corners and can easily go unnoticed or cause confusion in source direction and location due to environmental conditions such as sun glare, fog, rain, or snow. Sirens must compete with the masking noise generated by the road, car radios, and ventilation fans and must overcome modern sound insulation techniques.3 In other cases, some people may be unresponsive to certain frequencies of sound. Additionally, as sound projects linearly, it is difficult for other emergency vehicle operators to hear sirens when approaching an intersection perpendicular to the direction of travel of the initial emergency vehicle, especially if there are buildings at the

1 https://www.emergencydispatch.org/articles/warningsystems1.htm.

2 Department of Homeland Security, Security and Technology Directorate, “Project Responder 4: 2014 National Technology Plan for Emergency Response to Catastrophic Incidents”, p. 11.

3 https://www.emergencydispatch.org/articles/warningsystems1.htm.

corners of the intersection that further block residual sound. This lack of awareness of an approaching emergency vehicle can lead to accidents and can severely slow down response time.

As such, traffic-based delays are mainly determined by the effectiveness of emergency vehicle warning device and other means of traffic preemption.4 This proposed technology solution will increase the time available for civilian drivers to move to the side and out of the way of an approaching emergency vehicle by sending an advanced notice from the emergency vehicle.

In order for civilian drivers to yield to an emergency vehicle prior to its arrival, it is vital for audio signals to be delivered in time in an effective range of proximities. This requires the sound waves produced by sirens to penetrate the soundproof systems of vehicles without creating further noise pollution. The effects of noise pollution, which is unwanted or disturbing sound, is present in cities and rural areas alike. In order for drivers and pedestrians to identify the direction from which an emergency vehicle is approaching, it is critical for the siren to be engineered with a highly localized siren.5 A desire for robust sirens has led to the development of sirens with different operating mechanisms and acoustic features.6 Light signals are difficult to detect and identify in misty weather and other adverse conditions, which further constrains the effectiveness of the current lights and sirens system.7

It is tragically common for drivers to collide with emergency vehicles stopped at incident scenes on roadways and highways. Typically, first responders park their emergency vehicles to shield emergency personnel from oncoming traffic. However, this is not always possible and tragic accidents occur. Studies have shown that distracted drivers are sometimes drawn towards the flashing emergency lights at the scene. When traffic slows due to an incident on a roadway, often motorists approaching at high rates of speed are caught by surprise and are unable to reduce their speed quickly enough to avoid a collision with the vehicle in front of them.

3.1 Mission Scenarios

First responders need to get to incidents quickly and safely. This is true for all disciplines of first responders, as they are expected to arrive in a timely manner while navigating through traffic.

Motorists who receive ample notification of an emergency vehicle approaching from behind will have more time to move aside to clear a path for the emergency vehicle. Similarly, drivers approaching an intersection who have advanced knowledge of an emergency vehicle approaching from a perpendicular direction will be more likely to stop prior to entering the intersection, thus reducing the risk of a collision. The proposed solution to provide an emergency response warning for civilians shall reduce the travel times for first responders by reducing the time spent navigating through and stopped in traffic due to drivers either not paying attention or not being properly alerted to their approach. The proposed solution will lessen the chance of collisions.

First responders must deal with traffic while travelling to an incident scene and, depending on the details of the emergency, some responders need to quickly leave a scene and move through

4 https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-042513-003855/unrestricted/SNLK3-FINAL.pdf.

5 https://www.emergencydispatch.org/articles/warningsystems1.htm.

6 https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-042513-003855/unrestricted/SNLK3-FINAL.pdf.

7 https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-042513-003855/unrestricted/SNLK3-FINAL.pdf.

https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-042513-003855/unrestricted/SNLK3-FINAL.pdf https://www.emergencydispatch.org/articles/warningsystems1.htm traffic on the way to a hospital or another facility. Travel times can impact the survival of the victim if medical care is not provided in a timely manner, or if LE does not arrive in time to stop or redirect traffic at the scene, or firefighters are delayed in responding to a fire, among many other scenarios. Additionally, while at the scene, some vehicles will keep their lights on to call attention to the emergency situation. By providing additional notifications, without overloading the drivers with too much information about other vehicles on the road, travel times may be significantly reduced allowing for an increase in the amount of lives saved and property protected due to a decrease in collisions.

In cases where emergency vehicles are stopped on a roadway or highway, the technology solution will provide advanced notification to drivers of a stationary emergency vehicle ahead as they approach. This is intended to reduce the occurrences of vehicles colliding with emergency vehicles stopped on roadways at incident scenes. It will also provide advanced warning to drivers that traffic ahead may be slowing due to the presence of emergency vehicles on the roadway or highway. This would increase the safety of dismounted responders at incident scenes, as well as that of other drivers on the roadway.

3.2 Current Technology Shortfalls and Threats

This proposed solution will increase safety of first responders and allow them to provide their services while lessening the possibility of collisions when traveling to incidents by creating a system that better notifies other drivers of their approach in the quickest manner possible. This enhanced awareness of location and proximity will decrease the time that response vehicles will spend in traffic. Previous attempts to improve the notification systems of emergency response vehicles focused on making brighter lights and louder sirens. These alterations to the notification systems have already been implemented via light-emitting diode (LED) lights and altered. Even with these changes, accidents and traffic jams continue to cause delays for emergency vehicles traveling to their destinations. By developing a better alerting system that informs other drivers on the road of the emergency vehicle’s presence, more drivers will move out of the way of approaching emergency vehicles before the vehicle arrives, reducing the amount of times emergency vehicles need to slow or stop to navigate through congested traffic.

Responders will be able to spend more time focused on making their way to the final destination and less on whether all the vehicles have moved to out of their path. When civilian drivers are more aware of the presence of emergency vehicles, the amount of accidents that occur annually between emergency vehicles and other vehicles will decrease.

This new technology should also result in additional time allotted for drivers to move safely out of the way by increasing the awareness to civilian drivers of the emergency vehicle’s approach.

Drivers may be listening to the radio, texting, eating, putting on makeup, or worse − talking on cellphones − the most notorious driver distractions these days.8 It is not uncommon for drivers to initiate avoidance maneuvers until that emergency vehicle is directly behind them. The repetition of this situation with many vehicles at numerous intersections impacts the response time potentially resulting in dire delays. Increasing the time that drivers have before an emergency vehicle is close behind them may lessen panic that is caused by the shortened time to react and increase the safety of all parties on the road. With additional notifications that an

8 http://www.annarbor.com/news/first-responders-many-motorists-dont-follow-the-rules-of-the-road-when-emergency-vehicles-approach/.

emergency vehicle is approaching, civilian drivers will be able to take action as early as possible.

Giving civilians more time to move out of the way of emergency vehicles will not only decrease the amount of travel time for emergency vehicles but can also decrease the amount of accidents involving emergency vehicles.

4.0 Potential Solution Attributes

This solution shall be a new notification system in addition to the traditional lights and sirens used on emergency vehicles. It shall be something that interrupts the status quo in a vehicle, such as a system that interrupts the radio (e.g. satellite radio, Bluetooth, or AM/FM stations) or an audio, visual, or vibration alert in the interior of a civilian’s vehicle.

The solution will “listen to” emergency vehicles in close proximity that have activated their lights and sirens. In other words, when a first responder activates their lights and sirens, this technological solution shall alert vehicles of the emergency vehicle’s presence, allowing for a three pronged approach to notification: lights, sirens, and direct communication to civilian vehicles that are equipped with this new technology. One potential solution attribute that should be considered is an opt-in cell phone application that could be operated in a hands-free manner.

The technology solution is not necessarily required to be exclusively embedded or built into the vehicle but will be something that could be added post-production and in the long run be integrated into civilian vehicles. It shall alert a civilian driver of the imminent emergency vehicle in addition to the traditional lights and sirens using a variety of techniques. Various options may be proposed for such alerting; including both visual and audio alerts within the car, but all should include a radio cut-off unless there is a justification to support its exclusion.

Within emergency vehicles the solution will be integrated into the current lights and sounds system and activated via the same systems that are in place today. A retrofitted option will also be made commercially available. If a choice must be made for activation to be linked to the activation of either emergency lights or the siren, a preference would be for activation to be tied to the emergency lights. This is due to various situations where a vehicle may activate only the emergency lights, such as when operating at an incident on a roadway or highway, or at the operator’s discretion when travelling through residential neighborhoods at night.

4.1 Concept of Operations (CONOPS)

This solution should not alter current first responder CONOPS. The solution shall be built into the current infrastructure utilized for lights and sirens (controls mounted inside the cab of the vehicle) and upon activating those it will also enable the new solution that communicates directly with the civilian vehicles as deemed necessary. If it is determined that an additional switch is necessary to install this solution to current vehicles, then a small CONOPS change may be necessary. In that event, the solution shall include CONOPS change details as needed.

5.0 Solution Capabilities and Requirements

While DHS is interested in meeting all these requirement goals, offerors are encouraged to apply even if they only meet some of them (i.e., complete or partial technology solutions will be considered).

https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1093&bih=510&q=omittance&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi81sHIyZXQAhWW8oMKHdkoDPkQvwUIGCgA

5.1 Must Have Requirements (Key Performance Parameters, KPP’s) The proposed solution must include:

• The ability to be integrated into (pre- and post-manufacture) all civilian vehicles and all standard emergency response vehicles, including those for EMS, LE, and Fire;

• A lifespan equal to the entirety of the typical life span of the emergency apparatus and the civilian vehicle;

• The ability to have a customizable signal strength, determined by the emergency vehicle driver, that can continually communicate an emergency vehicle’s proximity to civilian vehicles when they are within a minimum radius of one half mile in a rural setting, or 5 city blocks or less in an urban environment:

o The solution must be configurable to permit the emergency vehicle operators to adjust the signal strength to set the desired approximate alerting radius, which will be affected by the topography and whether the vehicle is in an urban or rural environment;

o It is desirable that vehicle operators be provided guidance to assist in correlating between the signal strength setting and the alerting radius in various environments; and o This guidance may be in the form of printed documents, or expanded configuration settings on the device itself.

• An alert that interrupts the status quo inside a vehicle by capturing the drivers’ attention and notifying them of an upcoming emergency response vehicle. Such a system may interrupt the radio (e.g. satellite radio, Bluetooth, or AM/FM stations) and/or an audio, visual, or send a vibration alert in the interior of a civilian’s vehicle, or activate a cell phone application;

• This solution will be embedded into the current lights and sirens system and activated via the same systems that are in place now in emergency vehicles. A retrofitted option will also be made commercially available;

• This solution must have applicable Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certifications based on the solution proposed;

• This solution must not require users/departments to obtain any frequency licensing or operator authorizations from the FCC;

• This solution must not be dependent upon any display or visualization devices in the emergency vehicle, but may optionally use them;

• This solution must be interoperable with mobile computer terminals;

• This solution must have the ability to manually turn the feature “off” when responding to incidents where notifying the public would be detrimental to the response;

• If a choice must be made for activation to be linked to the activation of either emergency lights or the siren, a preference would be for activation to be tied to the emergency lights;

• If first responder CONOPS changes are required, the operational changes must be detailed and provided with the delivery of the system:

o Additionally, the solution should include a proposed method to gain representative first responder approval of proposed changes for end users to use when considering product system adoption; and

• Have applicable Underwriters Laboratory (UL) certifications, as needed based on the solution proposed.

5.2 Desirable Capabilities or Characteristics

Desired characteristics include:

• Should have a change in the warning signal, whether audible or visual, as the vehicle gets closer;

• Should be able to integrate with current mapping software systems, such as Waze or in vehicle GPS systems;

• Should be able to integrate with Public Alerting Systems such as FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) and the Wireless Emergency Alert Service

(WEA);

• Considerations should be made to allow the system to be turned off as needed for specific scenarios such as clandestine events;

• Should automatically activate the hazard lights or other devices on the signaled vehicles to show warning message was received;

• The solution should be capable of conveying very basic information, such as the type of emergency vehicle approaching (e.g., Fire, EMS, Police), its relative direction (ahead, left, right, behind); and

• The solution should be able to be incorporated into existing software platforms, such as OnStar.

6.0 System Support

6.1 Period and Place of Performance

The length of time of the contract shall be between 12-18 months, and shall not exceed the latter.

All developmental activities will be performed at the contractor-designated site(s). DHS may require the contractor to perform critical design reviews and/or product presentations at DHS-specified locations.

6.2 Contract Deliverables

DHS is committed to ensuring the success of their technology by requiring the project performer to provide DHS a minimum of three (3) prototype deliverables which will be used for post-contract testing and evaluation.

6.3 Transition Requirements

DHS is also committed to ensuring the use of their technology by the first responder community by documenting metrics regarding product sales and estimated production costs for the first three years after commercialization. Additionally, to promote first responder technology awareness

DHS may participate in operational exercises, demonstrations, and conferences for the first three years after commercialization.

6.4 Regulatory/Legal Requirements

There may be regulations or requirements from the FCC regarding transmitting devices, from Department of Transportation, from UL for safety considerations, or from several others depending on the path chosen. The offeror will detail what certifications and/or standards apply and will be required based on the proposed solution. Further, if the solution to this problem is to include 5.9 GHz, the solution may need to include the Intelligent Transportation System licensing. The solution may fit among the licensed uses of the FirstNet network; they might use unlicensed spectrum (e.g. 2.4 GHz), however, this is risky as it subjects the warning system to interference and may interfere with other uses (e.g. municipally supplied Internet access).

DHS is committed to providing information regarding the availability of their technology to the first responder community by requiring the project performer to submit applications to be added to the DHS Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Authorized Equipment List (AEL) and the InterAgency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability (IAB) Standardized Equipment List (SEL) as a final deliverable.

6.5 System Affordability

First responders’ budgets are limited and should be taken into consideration when developing and determining a price per unit cost model.

6.7 Support Concept

The technologies that are required to support this system are already in place; the currently installed lights and sirens on emergency vehicles.

6.8 Training

No additional training should be required for first responders as first responder CONOPS should not be altered. If an additional switch is determined to be required, then some basic education should be provided. Any technical training material shall be available initially in hard-copy, and subsequently in soft-copy (electronic) format.

6.9 Other Considerations

Human Interface Requirements: The target users for this technology solution are all emergency responders; especially those from the EMS, LE, and Fire disciplines.

Logistics and Readiness: This tool will be employed by all emergency vehicle operators and the data will be transmitted to all civilian drivers increasing awareness of the emergency vehicles operating on the roadways near them.

6.10 Storage and Maintenance

The contractor shall identify all maintenance requirements, if any, for the proposed solution including the required maintenance schedule, identification of the specific components of the ensemble that requires the maintenance, the type of maintenance required, and whether the maintenance can be performed in the field by operational personnel or if it will be required to be returned to the manufacturer for the required maintenance.

Maintenance of this technology solution shall be minimal and an automatic update to the devices as deemed necessary by the manufactures or producers. The device shall be stored in civilian vehicles in a way that does not impede their day to day activities and embedded in emergency vehicles.