The Evansville Fire Department recently completed a multi-year project to implement “applied information” technology to pre-empt traffic control devices for fire department vehicles in their city.
Assistant Chief Paul Anslinger led the 5-year effort to bring the new technology to the city. The new stoplight preemption technology is currently functional at nearly 230 intersections in the city, and Anslinger says that number will grow as newly constructed intersections will be compatible with this technology, TRISTATE Homepage reported.
The applied information technology work when fire department vehicles respond with their lights and sirens activated.
The technology sends a signal and calculates the vehicles time to the intersection, then estimates time needed to begin a cycle to change the traffic lights.
Fire officials told TRISTATE Homepage they believe the new system will help reduce fuel and maintenance costs as well as reduce response time by an estimated 20-25 percent.
