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Bluetooth technology turns red lights green for emergency vehicles

Cameron Atfield

Emergency vehicles are automatically turning Brisbane's lights green to enable them to get to their destinations up to 26 per cent quicker.

The technology has been rolled out across 13 Brisbane road corridors at a cost of $1.1 million, jointly funded by Brisbane City Council and the Queensland state government.

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Brisbane's traffic lights will be turned green during emergencies to provide police, fire and ambulance vehicles a quicker path. Nine News

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the technology could shave almost 30 seconds off an emergency vehicle's travel time, a relatively small amount of time that could have life-saving ramifications.

"In an emergency, every second counts and this priority emergency technology is about making sure we see emergency vehicles, be they ambulances or fire and rescue vehicles, get to where they need to go quickly," he said.

"To date, we've had 309 intersections fitted out with these emergency devices and already we've seen 120 ambulances and 23 fire and rescue trucks that are also fitted out with those devices."

After an emergency trip is given top priority by dispatchers, that information is transmitted via Bluetooth from the vehicle to receiving stations along busy Brisbane road corridors.

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"The emergency vehicle triggers a message, which comes to the (Brisbane Traffic Management Centre), which allows then the computers to change the lights, to get those lights on green," he said.

Cr Quirk said they had been used effectively across the city, with about 700 activations on Waterworks Road and 800 along Bowen Bridge and Lutwyche roads.

"Where we can create further green time for an emergency vehicle, rather than having to go through traffic that's stopped at the intersection, weave their way through and then crawl through an intersection, this device allows a free-flow of emergency vehicles through those corridors," he said.

Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said it had been a "fantastically successful" program that had been used all across Queensland.

"(There have been time) savings of up to 26 per cent of getting patients who need emergency care to the hospitals a lot faster.

"It's a really good use of technology and we have been very happy to see that rolled out in different locations across Queensland and I have no doubt that emergency vehicle priority technology will save lives."

The council's infrastructure chairman, Amanda Cooper, said the technology had been well received by ambulance and fire crew.

"We've had very positive feedback from all of the people who have participated in this process and we want to see this rolled out and continue to provide this service to the community," she said.

The technology has been rolled out on 13 road corridors in Brisbane:

  • Kelvin Grove Road and Enoggera Road
  • Sandgate Road and Albion Road
  • Waterworks Road
  • Moggill Road
  • Milton Road
  • Coronation Drive
  • Logan Road
  • Creek Road
  • Oxley Road and Blunder Road
  • Mains Road and Compton Road
  • Ipswich Road
  • Cavendish Road and Newnham Road
  • Wynnum Road and Manly Road

"Every single second counts when it comes to dealing with people in an emergency situation," Cr Cooper said.

"If we're seeing up to 25-second benefits as a result of this program, we know that that can make a huge difference to the treatment that people get or the services that are provided."

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