To help create a culture of innovation, Stellantis created the Star*Up program, where employees presented their ideas. A hearing-impaired worker who was not named provided the idea for visual hazard notices, according to Automotive News, which resulted in Stellantis’ participation in the HAAS Alert System.
The idea was presented in 2021 and pushed into production far faster than usual. Warnings are provided by emergency vehicles (police, fire, and ambulance) with their lights or sirens on, and are not triggered by parked, idle police cars. Warnings go through HAAS Alert transponders. The company also seeks to add disabled vehicles via Emergency Solutions, Inc’s Hazard Enhanced Location Protocol. That would give around 15-20 seconds of warning before approaching a disabled vehicle. This aspect of the software is still being evaluated by the company.
Over 1.8 million Mopars now have alerts for fire trucks, ambulances, and road hazards enabled by HAAS V2X (vehicle to anything) systems. HAAS Alert, a Chicago company, makes devices for construction vehicles, work zone signs, and other non-police users.