Horton Emergency Vehicles Partners with IMMI on Airbag Safety System

GROVE CITY, OH—Horton Emergency Vehicles, a subsidiary of REV Group Inc., announced March 16, 2023, the launch of Horton Occupant Protection System™ (HOPS) featuring MBrace™, the first-of-its-kind protection for first responders.

MBrace is a patent-pending advanced airbag safety system designed specifically to protect emergency care providers inside the patient compartment during frontal impacts, in addition to ambulance rollovers. Horton is the first and only brand in the ambulance industry to offer MBrace. All Horton vehicle orders placed on or after April 1, 2023, will include the MBrace system as standard equipment.

Independent data indicates that nearly 80% of accidents with ambulances that resulted in fatalities and serious injuries were frontal impacts.* MBrace was developed to provide more protection against head and neck injuries during frontal impact collisions, in addition to ambulance rollovers.

MBrace integrates an airbag into an innovative multi-point restraint that protects emergency care providers while allowing them the mobility and freedom to work. Designed and engineered by IMMI and tested extensively with Horton ambulances at the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE), MBrace takes EMS protection to a new level.

“Pioneering safety is in Horton’s DNA, and our partnerships with industry leaders, such as IMMI, have enabled us to keep advancing the level of safety that is available to emergency care providers,” stated Mike Albers, vice president and general manager for Horton Emergency Vehicles. “We are excited to offer MBrace as standard equipment. Improving the safety of our ambulances is one of our highest priorities.”

Customers who already have a Horton ambulance on order can work with their Horton dealer to add MBrace to their order, depending on how far along it is in the design process. In addition, MBrace will be available for Horton remounts that are performed at the REV Remount Center in Grove City, OH.

“The launch of MBrace is the culmination of years of research and development with partners such as Horton, who share our goal of raising the bar on safety through innovation,” said Larry Gray, CEO of IMMI.

Visit www.hortonambulance.com

*Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System 1991-2000; Green J. et al, “Reducing Vehicle Crash-Related EMS Worker Injuries Through Improvements in Restraint Systems,” World Congress on Safety & Health at Work. 9/05.