As snow was blanketing (Chicago’s Northwest Suburbs on Monday, February 17th, Todd Wessell, Journal Online Editor & Publisher) spotted an amazing sight at the corner of River Road and Devon Avenue. Six village of Rosemont snowplows were making their way north on River pushing snow from the entire width of the heavily-traveled roadway kitty-corner from Rivers Casino…
When the sirens turn on, the lights will turn green. At least they will at some of Costa Mesa’s busiest intersections, where stoplights will soon help first-responders cut through congestion by anticipating the paths of emergency vehicles and changing accordingly. The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the installation of what’s known as…
The city of Ballwin has agreed to allow the Metro West Fire Protection District to install, operate and maintain a priority control signal system for the traffic light at the New Ballwin and Reinke roads intersection to help speed the district’s response to fire and emergency medical calls. In a nutshell, the agreement allows certain…
When firefighters or paramedics respond to an emergency call, trying to get through intersections can costs precious time. The Opticom™ GPS system, a new program implemented at two busy intersections in town, gives emergency responders a green light. The system uses a network of satellites and a vehicle sensor to track everything from speed to turn…
The city of Rowlett, TX uses Opticom™ to make their emergency responders and citizens safer at intersections. Watch the video.
Percentage of Time Response to Emergency Events in Five Minutes or Less FY /09/10 FY 10/11 FY 11/12 FY 12/13 Target 90% 90% 90% 90% Actual 56% 47% 54% 60% Variance -34% -43% -36% -30% FY 12/13 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Target 90% 90% 90%…
Ten malfunctioning traffic signal preemption devices in the Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District have been upgraded to ensure the safety of firefighters and the residents. The sensors, or “Opticoms,” help firefighters, paramedics and police officers safely navigate through busy intersections when responding to emergency calls. The upgraded sensors are located at the intersections of: •…
A new piece of technology has been literally green-lighting emergency vehicles on call with the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps over the past year, according to RVAC Chief Joseph Oliver. The device, called an Opticom™, uses GPS to determine location, speed and trajectory of first responders and ambulances, communicates that information to traffic lights along Route…
Ambulances to University Hospital Get Green Light(s) Green lights are in store for drivers of ambulances headed to University Hospital on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Ambulance drivers heading to the hospital on routes that pass through 35 intersections will now encounter green lights at every intersection, every time.…
POWELL, Ohio – Liberty Township firefighters said on Tuesday that a new high-tech tool used to stop traffic could be life saving. The department began using a GPS-based traffic technology called Opticom™ for two years and said that new data shows that the tool not only can save time but help lives, 10TV’s AJ Smith…