StreetCard Increases Safety
More Reliable and Faster Activation in Panic Situations
A Personal Alarm is intended to enable a person to signal for help in an emergency. The person may be an uninvolved witness to an automobile accident or an assault, or the person may be the object of a threatened assault. In reference to the latter case, it is known that many people under extreme stress approach a state of panic and lose most fine motor coordination abilities. For example see, “Psychological Effects of Combat” by Dave Grossman and Bruce K. Siddle, Academic Press, 2000. In such a situation, it may become difficult or impossible to activate a button on a Personal Alarm, particularly if it is recessed or covered or otherwise protected from accidental activation. Keying a code, such as 911, into a cell phone keypad may be impossible. If the device has a button on only one side, the simple action of determining the button location by touch and orienting the device so that the person’s finger can press the button may be next to impossible. Since time usually is of the essence in an emergency, the person will attempt to perform these actions very quickly, further increasing the probability of failing to activate an alarm.
StreetCard eliminates buttons! It requires only the fast and simple gross motor action of folding StreetCard by closing your hand. It greatly increases the probability that an alarm can be activated in an emergency, because it does not require of the user detailed fine motor motions such as finding and pushing a button on a PA. It does not require any visual or fine tactile clues to orient the Personal Alarm or release a protected switch or button. The action of closing the hand to fold StreetCard and activate the alarm is a gross motor action. It is much more easily accomplished than finding and pushing a button in an emergency situation. Thus the probability of an alarm being activated, and the speed at which it can be activated, are both increased. The result is reduced risk and improved safety for the StreetCard user.
More Reliable and Faster Activation in Panic Situations
A Personal Alarm is intended to enable a person to signal for help in an emergency. The person may be an uninvolved witness to an automobile accident or an assault, or the person may be the object of a threatened assault. In reference to the latter case, it is known that many people under extreme stress approach a state of panic and lose most fine motor coordination abilities. For example see, “Psychological Effects of Combat” by Dave Grossman and Bruce K. Siddle, Academic Press, 2000. In such a situation, it may become difficult or impossible to activate a button on a Personal Alarm, particularly if it is recessed or covered or otherwise protected from accidental activation. Keying a code, such as 911, into a cell phone keypad may be impossible. If the device has a button on only one side, the simple action of determining the button location by touch and orienting the device so that the person’s finger can press the button may be next to impossible. Since time usually is of the essence in an emergency, the person will attempt to perform these actions very quickly, further increasing the probability of failing to activate an alarm.
StreetCard eliminates buttons! It requires only the fast and simple gross motor action of folding StreetCard by closing your hand. It greatly increases the probability that an alarm can be activated in an emergency, because it does not require of the user detailed fine motor motions such as finding and pushing a button on a PA. It does not require any visual or fine tactile clues to orient the Personal Alarm or release a protected switch or button. The action of closing the hand to fold StreetCard and activate the alarm is a gross motor action. It is much more easily accomplished than finding and pushing a button in an emergency situation. Thus the probability of an alarm being activated, and the speed at which it can be activated, are both increased. The result is reduced risk and improved safety for the StreetCard user.
