Candid on Cameras » safety vision

Elk, and coyotes, and bears: Oh, my! Our safety cameras brave the elements to save lives

Melissa Foteh — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:40:44 +0000

Here’s a gripping update to the Proforma Safety International mobile safety collaboration story that we shared here, in July. In this true-life adventure tale, the Safety Vision collision avoidance camera system we installed on Proforma’s Hummer saved their crew from potentially life-threatening injuries, costly vehicle repairs, and recurring nightmares of encounters with scary animals!

Proforma president Mike Arnold tells us that the Safety Vision mobile video system, including a FLIR PathfindIR thermal imaging camera, has proven its worth on at least two occasions on site in Wyoming. Mike shares details of those instances, below:

Case 1: “A Proforma surveyor was lost in an isolated area with a 2-way radio that failed; his last known location was 3 miles away. A ground search began at dark and the surveyor was picked up within 20 minutes of searching, about a 1/4 mile distance off, thanks to the PathfindIR. This surveyor was saved from a very cold night in the wilderness—and from encounters with bears and coyotes until daylight.”

Case 2: “I was using the PathfindIR along with the vehicle’s high beams to work my way along a winding mountain road on my way to Cody, Wyoming this morning. I noticed a white area on the SV-LCD56 monitor and reduced speed just in time to come face-to-face with a herd of elk crossing the road. My headlights brought them into view within about 20 feet, but had it not been for the PathfindIR and the advanced 100 foot warning it gave me, the cost to repair the Hummer would have been 3 times the cost of the PathfindIR, not to mention any injuries that may have resulted.”

Safety Vision’s Andre Morgan did a thorough job installing the collision avoidance camera system; that’s Andre in the photo standing tall and proud in front of a professional job, well done! Proforma attests to the quality of the installation and our mobile safety gear, confirming that our rugged equipment hangs tough in a rough environment. “We are driving overland through non-existing roads and rough-rocks terrain that can shake even the best electronics to pieces. We’ve encountered zero problems with the Safety Vision equipment that was installed,” Mike enthuses.

At Safety Vision, we love hearing and sharing stories about how our dependable mobile camera systems are out there doing their job: performing reliably and preventing accidents. The stories are even better when we’re saving lives!

Mobile video install: Santa Fe ISD Police Department gets equipped at Safety Vision headquarters

Melissa Foteh — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:20:39 +0000

Earlier this month, Santa Fe ISD Police Department Chief Walter Braun and his entourage came to Safety Vision headquarters to pick up five of their police vehicles that were installed with Safety Vision’s PatrolRecorder™ CF mobile digital video recorder (MDVR) system.

Walter said his fleet decided to procure mobile surveillance systems to document traffic stops and prisoner transport. “There is liability in not documenting passengers while they are in the vehicle,” says Walter. “Most school districts in our area have mobile video systems installed in their vehicles and we have seen the positive outcome that has accompanied this.”

Santa Fe ISD outfitted their fleet with the PatrolRecorder™ CF MDVR system that includes an SV-LCD-56B monitor; a windshield-mounted, forward-facing color zoom camera; a cabin-mounted camera; and a wireless audio unit. The PatrolRecorder™ CF merges technology and simplicity by incorporating a CompactFlash® card for easy data retrieval.

Pictures of the installation are posted in Safety Vision’s photostream on Flickr.

Safety Vision insight on school bus safety: as featured in School Transportation News magazine

Melissa Foteh — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:13:30 +0000

Safety Vision President/CEO Bruce Smith contributed to an article in School Transportation News (STN) magazine’s August 2009 issue titled “Working Against What Could Happen…Cameras, bus drivers and student education can help keep the worst-case scenario from becoming a reality.”

The article explains the importance of mobile surveillance on school bus routes and how onboard camera systems help discourage dangerous events from occurring. As discussed, communication between students, bus drivers, and parents is imperative to create broad protection for students during their route.

Bruce explained the role of mobile surveillance in pupil transportation, “If a crime has been committed, video recording from the mobile surveillance system can be used as hard evidence to show real events and a true collection of what happened.”

School districts are doing their part to amplify school bus safety by giving students behavioral guidelines for bus stops; covering student passenger safety issues during driver re-certification classes; and hosting annual educational conferences on transportation safety.

Click here to read the full article from STN and also see the article on pages 56-57 of STN’s August 2009 print issue.

Safety Vision featured in Metro magazine: an inside scoop on purchasing transit mobile surveillance

Melissa Foteh — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:05:27 +0000

John Major, one of Safety Vision’s cadre of transit video specialists, was featured in Metro magazine’s August issue in an article titled “What to Consider Before Equipping Your Fleet with Video Surveillance.”

Metro magazine delves into various aspects to consider before purchasing a mobile video system. As discussed, transit agencies all have individual onboard surveillance functionality requirements, and no two are necessarily the same.

The article suggests that transit agencies consider the following before purchasing mobile surveillance:

Get a test drive of the system
Check the system’s video quality
Assess user friendliness of the mobile digital video recorder (MDVR)
Compare system data storage to find the most suitable MDVR
Delve into the MDVR manufacturer’s history to gauge reliability
Calculate cameras needed against fleet budget and size
Choose the most appropriate locations for cameras on each bus
Compare available channels on MDVR to number of cameras needed
Find out if the MDVR is easily upgradeable for the future
Research manufacturer installation and technical support options

Other aspects touched on include researching warranties, expenses that go along with feature-rich systems, and available grant funding.

Click here to read the full online version of this article from Metro magazine.

Gone fishing: Safety Vision baits the 2009 Corpus Christi Law Enforcement Fishing Tournament

Melissa Foteh — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:12:27 +0000

Safety Vision global business development manager Chuck Garrett participated in the Corpus Christi Law Enforcement Fishing Tournament (CCLEFT) August 7th-8th, 2009 held at Corpus Christi’s Briscoe King Pavilion Center.

Safety Vision was a gold sponsor of the event that benefits the CCLEFT Law Enforcement Scholarship Fund and other local charities. At the event were 600 attendees including 353 participating anglers.

Safety Vision collaborated with CCLEFT organizers to create a special category called Law Enforcement Personnel Only; Safety Vision donated prize money and three All Star/Abu Garcia fishing rod and reel combos for this category, created with law enforcement professionals in mind.

“We wanted to support law enforcement by helping fund the education of future law enforcement professionals,” says Chuck. “Safety Vision participated in CCLEFT due to our commitment to protect the lives and property of the public and public safety professionals with digital video recording systems.”

Seems like these anglers put their tackle and rod to good use! Click here for a catch of pictures from the tournament posted on Flickr.

In the news: Safety Vision featured in Police magazine’s mobile digital surveillance article

Melissa Foteh — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:35:56 +0000

Safety Vision was included in an article in Police magazine’s July 2009 issue that highlights digital mobile surveillance technologies and the progress that has been made since the time of analog systems. Capturing video on VHS tapes; manually removing data; and hours spent searching and extracting video clips is now a thing of the past.

As discussed in the Police article, digital is the new wave of mobile surveillance and encompasses high tech features, such as capturing video on DVDs, wireless data transfer, video management solutions, and using hard drives and flash memory cards for data storage.

Safety Vision customer Lt. Kirk Jackson of the LaMarque Police Department has been using Safety Vision’s PatrolRecorder 4C mobile digital video system for 2 years and contributed to the article. Click here to read the entire piece from Police magazine.

Safety Vision takes a ride-along with PIPS Technology’s license plate recognition system

Melissa Foteh — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:12:23 +0000

PIPS Technology recently stopped by Safety Vision headquarters to demonstrate their automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology for the law enforcement industry. Tony Burns, PIPS Technology senior account manager, took several Safety Visionaries on a ride-along in the PIPS police car, where we witnessed firsthand the usage and benefits of ALPR for law enforcement. As we learned, ALPR is used for:

Stolen vehicle recovery
Identification of felons or wanted individuals
Monitoring school and playground perimeters for sexual predators
Amber Alerts
Identification of delinquent citations for revenue enforcement
BOLO (Be on look out) suspects
Crime scene intelligence and surveillance
Monitoring of gang activity and locations
Drug enforcement

The ALPR system captures and stores all license plates that the police vehicle passes while driving. Picking up thousands of license plates per shift, the system can capture plates with vehicle speeds up to 160 miles per hour. Providing historical data associated with license plates, the system alerts officers of potentially dangerous situations and gives a background for the officer to go by. ALPR is also used heavily for identifying those with outstanding traffic violations.

Used in conjunction with police car video systems, ALPR is the new rage in mobile law enforcement technology solutions. Those who are running from the law, watch out…!

Check out PIPS Technology’s Web site for more information on ALPR.

Interested in what really happens while at the scene? Go on your own ride-along by checking out law enforcement video clips on Vimeo and blutube.