The history of the project dates back to 1993 when ENTERPRISE first partnered with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to pilot the Mayday (emergency notification) project referred to as Colorado Mayday.
Since 1993, numerous Field Operational Tests (FOTs) have been conducted to test Mayday products or services. Also, there were private Telematics Service Providers (TSP) that offered commercial products that deliver Mayday services to travelers. The most widely known TSP at that time was OnStar, with several million subscribers nationwide.
The premise of this project, however, was not to assume that the challenge of locating stranded or injured motorists in need of urgent care has been completely solved by private sector communication media or TSPs such as OnStar. Instead, this research project was intended to seek opportunities for those who do not subscribe to the monthly services of TSPs, or who have vehicles where TSP products and services are not available.
This document presents a summary of findings of Phase 1 (survey of existing and emerging E-911 technologies). The report is based on an initial status provided to project members and the Enterprise group at the December 2006 meeting. This summary report includes additional research based on the feedback of project members and Enterprise group. The report was used as the basis of the Phase 2 workshop, as well as the final report (Phase 3).