New road safety technology coming to Colonie, Guilderland, Clifton Park

COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Colonie, Guilderland and Clifton Park EMS will bring in a new technology to help save more lives across the state. Colonie EMS said they want to reduce the chances of fatal accidents on all roadways.

According to Robbie MacCue, assistant chief of Colonie EMS, there have been 118 fatal crashes in these three towns within the last decade. Although Robbie said the number has recently flattened out, it's still a number he wants to reduce.

“I would say it's still a major concern the numbers have slightly flattened which is good," said Robbie.

However, to many EMS members, it's not good enough. Thanks to the new Safe Streets for All grant, Colonie, Guilderland and Clifton Park are getting $650,000 in state funding to implement a new technological solution for road safety. The three towns cover about 30 miles of high-speed roadways, that Robbie said can often be dangerous.

Therefore, this technology hopes to curb that. The goal is to send drivers who are using a "more modern-day car," a notification on their dashboard when there's a crash ahead. Robbie said this will often come across on apps such as Waze.

“Allowing more modern day cars, which are more sound proof and might not hear sirens and giving people on the road rather than five seconds to react to seeing an emergency scene on the highway, they might have 30 seconds to react and slow down," said Robbie.

In the event of a crash, there's also something drivers can do to help.

“A lot of people don’t know that there is a medical ID app built into the iPhone," said Robbie.

All drivers are encouraged to input their emergency contact information on their cellphones. This includes standard information such as your name, any medical conditions, blood type and your primary language.

The state grant will help first responders use that emergency information, allowing them to potentially save a life.

“Our goal is to just get pertinent information," said Robbie. "Do they have a bleeding disorder, is there a potential allergy we should know about?"

Officials hope that this new approach can be adopted by other towns across the state.

“If we can prove that we can reduce roadway fatalities, this can be used as a model across the state and frankly across the country to improve post-crash care," said Robbie.

The new technology will be implemented in the next few months. For more information, visit their website.