What if The Officer Needs Access to the MDT?
Law Enforcement agencies often walk a fine line between asking their officers to interact with a vast assortment of technology inside the police cruiser and yet do not be distracted by the technology. Limiting or disabling typing on the MDT while driving can lower the risk of a distracted driving accident. Below are some common question agencies have and how ScreenSafe addresses those concerns.
Yes, ScreenSafe can be configured to disable, limit or block the ability to type on the keyboard and/or view the display at any speed. We allow you to configure ScreenSafe to conform to your Safety Policy regarding typing on the MDT while driving. You can even configure it to limit the ability for Vehicle-to-Vehicle messaging while driving. ScreenSafe can limit typing while allowing use of the touchscreen and license plate lookup applications. You Decide.
Yes, if you desire, you can disable the ability to type on the keyboard as soon as the vehicle is in motion and not restrict viewing the display. The officer would still be able to view the display and respond to calls using the touchscreen. The objective of ScreenSafe is to reduce the distractions created by the MDT, not to force you to give up using the tool, as long as it is not a distraction.
Your department may want the officer to have total use of the MDT (keyboard & display) at slow speeds. You, however, may want to disable it when the speed of the vehicle is such that the office needs to focus on the road in front of him/her. You could set the MDT disable speed at 65 mph, 80 mph or 95 mph. At 85 mph in the 2.5 seconds an officer is looking at the MDT display he will travel the length of a football field without looking at the road. Disabling the distraction of the MDT when in a high speed pursuit is a definite consideration.
ScreenSafe runs as a background program so it DOES NOT interfere with any other applications running on the MDT. Even if you choose to disable the keyboard and display the other applications like the License Plate Reader, Dispatch, CAD, etc. will still continue to function. The Officer can still use the MDT when it is in compliance with your Safety Policy.
If the Central Command chooses, you can enable a ScreenSafe Override function whereby the officer can press a single key and take total control of the MDT at any speed. This action creates a report with the officer’s name, location, speed, date & time for the Lieutenant to review with him/her the next day. It’s just another option we provide to ensure you are in control of when and how your MDT’s are being used while driving.
ScreenSafe is highly customizable. It was build with the objective of providing you with the flexibility you need to ensure use of the MDT while driving conforms to your Safety Policy. We at Mobile PC Manager want your officers to have access to the tools they need when needed but we also want to do all we can to help minimize the in-vehicle distractions. Our objective is to help you reduce or eliminate distracted driving accidents within your department providing a safer environment for your officers and the community.
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