On the move: The real-world evidence supporting vehicle-based defibrillators

The JumpStart Campaign is based on a simple principle: a defibrillator is only useful if it can reach a cardiac-arrest victim quickly enough to make a difference. Currently, around 80% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home. This means that most publicly accessible Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are, unfortunately, too far away from where they are likely to be needed.

In recent years, an increasing number of defibrillators have been installed in UK public spaces. Now, there is an opportunity to complement this great work by creating a network of mobile defibrillators – achieved by including these lifesaving devices as standard within all new cars. This idea is more than pure theory. A number of pilot projects from around the world have explored this concept already. Now, the JumpStart Campaign is urging the UK government to build on the evidence collected so far and develop it into a national safety standard.

Real-World Examples

Singapore offers a strong real-world example of vehicle-based defibrillators in action. In 2015, it launched its AED-on-Wheels programme. One hundred taxis were equipped with AEDs and the drivers were trained to respond to cardiac-arrest alerts. Over time, the programme was expanded to private-hire vehicles, additional taxi fleets, medical minibuses and logistics vehicles. By July 2021, participating taxi and private-hire drivers had attended 167 cardiac-arrest cases. By 2025, the wider Singapore AED-on-Wheels programme had grown to 543 vehicles. Taken as a whole, the programme provides real-world evidence that trained drivers carrying AEDs can form a functioning rapid-response layer.

In the Netherlands, meanwhile, the Volvo Lifesaver pilot was launched in 2019. Privately owned Volvo cars were equipped with AEDs and connected to the Dutch HartslagNu citizen-responder network. Twenty Volvo owners participated in the operational pilot, while 200 drivers were equipped and trained during the wider initiative. Within its first six months, participants received 108 emergency alerts and performed resuscitation on 15 occasions. The results provide a European precedent for the proposition that a privately owned car can become part of the emergency-response infrastructure.

New Research

New academic research published in 2026 adds a further dimension to the existing evidence. Researchers modelled the deployment of AEDs in ride-hailing vehicles using real-world data from New York City and Toronto. They demonstrated that mobile AEDs can improve response times and reliability when deployed alongside, or instead of a proportion of, fixed AED capacity. In their paper ‘Let AEDs Move: Urban Mobility Enhanced Defibrillator Deployment’, the researchers highlight how a combination of fixed and mobile AEDs, delivered in a ratio that is tailored to local needs, provides the optimum results.

The Road Ahead for AEDs

The evidence gathered so far is encouraging. It provides a credible foundation for the UK to investigate vehicle-based AED provision as a national public-safety intervention. With this in mind, the Jumpstart Campaign is calling on the government to take action. The UK has a growing network of fixed defibrillators; now, it’s time to go one step further and enable AEDs to take to the road.