SmartTO Innovation Challenge

Challenge Statement:

How might we reduce preventable collisions for Paramedics during regular operations and service delivery so that staff health and safety are improved, vehicle repair costs are reduced, and collisions are prevented while maintaining timely emergency response and operational effectiveness? 

Current State of York Region Paramedic Services

York Region Paramedic Services has identified collision reduction as a high-priority opportunity, with approximately 100 vehicle collisions occurring annually across the service. Reducing collisions would improve staff safety, reduce operational impacts, and help maintain reliable emergency response capabilities.

Paramedics operate in complex and dynamic environments, often requiring rapid response while navigating congested roadways, intersections, adverse weather conditions, and unpredictable driver behaviour. Vehicle collisions can occur during routine operations, emergency response, travel between facilities, or while providing patient care services.

York Region Paramedic Services experiences approximately 90-100 vehicle collisions annually, with 344 collisions recorded between 2022 and 2025, averaging approximately 86 collisions annually. Analysis of historical collision data indicates that approximately 91% of collisions (312 out of 344) are preventable, highlighting a significant opportunity to improve staff safety, reduce vehicle downtime, lower repair costs, and maintain reliable emergency response operations.

Collision trends indicate that many incidents are associated with routine driving activities such as reversing, clearance misjudgments, and mirror/forward observation challenges rather than high-speed emergency response events. Between 2022 and 2025, reversing accounted for 113 collisions while clearance-related incidents accounted for 85 collisions. Mirror and forward observation incidents accounted for an additional 66 collisions.

Data also shows that employees with less than five years of driving experience go through the highest number of collisions, suggesting opportunities for enhanced driver awareness, coaching, training, and technological intervention. Given that the majority of collisions are preventable and are associated with reversing, clearance-related incidents, and driver observation challenges, York Region is seeking innovative solutions that can improve safety outcomes while maintaining operational effectiveness and emergency response capabilities.

So the question is: How might we reduce preventable collisions for Paramedics during regular operations and service delivery so that staff health and safety are improved, vehicle repair costs are reduced, and collisions are prevented while maintaining timely emergency response and operational effectiveness?