Photo courtesy of South Placer Fire District (SPFD)

PLACER COUNTY, CA (MPG) - South Placer Fire District (SPFD) announced recently that it has received a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to purchase and implement the HAAS Alert's Safety Cloud®, a public safety solution that delivers real-time digital alerts to drivers when emergency vehicles are approaching or working on scene.

This life-saving technology provides drivers with crucial extra warning time, which reduces the risk of secondary crashes from bottlenecks following an initial crash.

"We are incredibly grateful for this grant, which will allow us to purchase state-of-the-art technology to keep our first responders safe.”

South Placer Fire District Fire Chief Mark Duerr said, “This technology bridges the gap between what the law requires and what actually happens on the road. When our lights activate, Safety Cloud gives drivers critical extra time to anticipate us and safely react – protecting both our personnel and the public we serve."

While California Move Over laws require drivers to slow down and change lanes for active emergency vehicles, flashing lights and sirens often don't provide enough warning to drivers, especially at high speeds or in poor visibility.

Safety Cloud solves this by delivering safety alerts to drivers through multiple channels including warning alerts on navigation apps such as Waze and Apple Maps, and built-in vehicle dashboard alerts for 2018 and newer Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM vehicles, plus 2024 and newer Volkswagen vehicles.

The system requires no action from drivers beyond using their regular navigation apps. South Placer Fire Protection District joins more than 4,000 agencies nationwide already using this protection system, with HAAS Alert actively expanding to additional vehicle platforms. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.