Advanced Automatic Crash Notification Systems: It Is Time to Adopt Potentially Life-Saving Technology

Since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) started the Automatic Collision Notification project in 1995, basic Automatic Crash Notifications (ACN) and Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) systems were integrated into cars to notify emergency medical services (EMS) by contacting 911, the national emergency number. However, despite technological advances, these systems are not standard in all vehicles. Additionally, the available vehicle telematic data is not easily transferred to public safety answering points (PSAP), where public safety telecommunicators (PST) take 911 calls and coordinate the emergency response with law enforcement, fire, and medical services and transport to a trauma center. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature of how ACN and AACN benefit patient outcomes and describe challenges and opportunities to implementation.