Vehicle: Car: Ambulance
Emergency Trafficlight Switch   (+5, -1)  [vote for, against]
Turns the trafficlights red so emergency traffic can pass

A transmitter placed in for example an ambulance, that sends an signal to all other trafficlights and turns them red when passing. Makes passing crossroads safer and faster.
-- BartJan, Jan 14 2002

Traffic Light Priority http://www.tss-tag.com/TRAPRIO.htm
The system has been implemented within the frame of the TRAPRIO project for traffic light priority in Devon and Maidstone, UK and Kolding, DK. [thumbwax, Jan 14 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

What a very sensible idea.
-- DrBob, Jan 14 2002


ambulances in the UK are supposed to, in law, obey the lights I believe ; but jump them at the drivers discretion
-- po, Jan 14 2002


Transponders/RF are quite baked - For example, in 1999 Metro Bus in L.A., CA ran successful tests using a different system than the link reference
-- thumbwax, Jan 14 2002


Just this day I experienced this big mess (here in Amsterdam) when an ambulance approached a crossroad. Some people are so shocked they just step on their brakes, and other's just ignore it.

So [blissmiss], that's what we want over here.
-- BartJan, Jan 14 2002


Baked in many municipalities in the U.S.. Emergency vehicles are equiped with forward-facing strobe lights that flash at a preset frequency. The flashes are registered by sensors strung up with the traffic lights and cause the lights to turn green so the emergency vehicle may pass through the intersection.
-- phoenix, Jan 14 2002


Well, blissmiss, let me think..... *inhale*

*exhale* No, thank you...
-- BartJan, Jan 14 2002


I remember Ads in Popular Mechanics/Science with Instructions on how to build a "Never see a red light again!" remote using parts from Radio Shack.
-- thumbwax, Jan 14 2002


And huge amounts of spam with the same subject.

I've reported them to local police as well as their ISP's...
-- StarChaser, Jan 14 2002


This is an excellent idea, which is why it is also baked in many places. In my town it was suggested that buses also have this capability during rush hour.
To expand on what [po] said, UK emergency vehicles may treat stop lights as 'Give Way' ('Yield') signs, while their emergency signals (lights & sirens) are in use.
-- angel, Jan 15 2002



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