Technology could help better prepare doctors for your arrival at the hospital following a serious car crash.
A General Motors and University of Michigan study is under way that uses the OnStar in-vehicle system for this purpose, according to The Associated Press.
Information from OnStar, including airbag deployment, whether or not the vehicle rolled over, and how many times the vehicle was struck, is relayed to the hospital in advance of the ambulance arriving so staff members can determine what sort of resources they need to have at the ready for the patient?s arrival, according to the AP.
In many cases, those extra minutes or seconds can make the difference between life and death.
The automaker also can use the information to make safety changes in vehicles. This goes beyond the sort of information that can be retrieved from the event data recorders that have been in place for 20 years or so.
Power shifts at MTA
There are some changes at the top of the Maryland Transit Administration.
Kathy Waters, who returned to the agency six months ago, is leaving to join a national transit advocacy group.
There had been some rumblings, always denied, that a power struggle was going on among several of the upper-level managers at the MTA.
Waters worked for the agency previously under the Glendening administration and returned at the request of Paul Weidefeld when he took over as administrator.
Her replacement as deputy administrator for operations has not been announced.
The other move is acting Chief of MTA Police David Franklin has been given the permanent job.
Franklin has several ideas for making the force better and more responsive, and having the full title should allow him to move forward.
His current reorganization of the department is a work in progress.
I-95 being shut down
Northbound Interstate 95 is going to be shut down this week and next week.
Beginning at midnight and extending to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday, the highway will be closed at Moravia Road (Exit 60) and traffic will be detoured around the closure.
This is all part of the Express Toll Lane project.
Contractors will set steel girders in place. Suffice it to say that if you do not have to travel in this area on these days, don?t.
The large amount of tractor-trailer traffic on the interstate during these hours will result in relatively large slowdowns.
