Florida Highway Patrol Will Soon Respond to Crashes Virtually

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) and the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) have partnered to launch a new pilot program in Orlando next spring.

According to an FLHSMV spokesperson, “The program would allow individuals in minor crashes to be assisted by a trooper, who is on light duty status, remotely via technology akin to FaceTime.”

However, there are caveats: Both parties must agree to participate, and there cannot be any injuries or the need for a tow truck since both incidents would require a trooper to be present.

“The goal is to reduce the wait time for people involved in crashes such as two people stuck in traffic and one vehicle rear ends another, causing minor damage,” the spokesperson told Industry Insider — Florida.

So, how does CFX come into play? Last month, the authority’s governing board approved a memorandum of understanding between CFX and FLHSMV to carry out the pilot program.

The memorandum states that the two-year project will involve FLHSMV providing two dedicated desk troopers to respond to incidents Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“According to the most recent data, the Florida Highway Patrol now has the least amount of troopers per 100,000 residents in the country,” Lt. Col. Mark Brown from the FLHSMV said during a CFX governing board meeting. “We’re just under nine troopers for 100,000 residents, with the next lowest being Alabama at 11, and for reference, California has 16, and Texas has 14.”

Furthermore, Brown said CFX and FLHSMV came up with the idea for the program to respond to calls for service within a reasonable time.

As for the technology component, troopers will rely on smartphones to assist individuals affected by minor crashes.

“All of our troopers now have smartphones, and the majority of the motoring public has smartphones as well, so there’s no software that needs to be downloaded,” Brown said. “It’s all cloud-based; they’ll click on a link, and it’ll connect them to the trooper.”

To qualify, an FLHSMV communication center employee will ask specific questions to individuals who call 911 to report an accident. If their answers point to a minor crash, the employee will ask the individual if they would like to speak with a “desk trooper,” who will then email them a report after they hang up.

Moving forward, Brown said, the next steps for the program include “making sure that the public knows it’s coming, knows it’s available and knows it’s a real benefit to them.”