SCDF and LTA studying ways to implement traffic priority systems

With the rising number of emergency cases, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) are aiming to shorten response time of emergency vehicles, like ambulances, by developing a 'traffic priority system' via flashing or lengthening a continuous green signal.

According to The Straits Times, both parties would like to start a half-year trial involving five traffic junctions and are seeking a consultant to help the Government body collect data from the trial. The collected data will be utilised to evaluate the effectiveness of the system, and its impact on overall traffic conditions. The consultant will also be tasked with providing recommendations to the system to be implemented islandwide.

Such systems are not new and have been implemented in other countries like the United States - since the late 1990s where electronic transponders on emergency vehicles trigger or extend the period of a green signal. Newer systems utilise GPS systems to ensure the route is in the favour of the responding emergency vehicle.

Home Affairs Minister, Teo Chee Hean, told Parliament on Monday that the SCDF's emergency ambulance service responded to 76,024 calls in the first half of the year - an 8.4 percent increase from the same period last year. "If this continues for the rest of the year, it would be the highest annual rate of increase in five years. The purpose of the emergency ambulance services is to deal with life threatening situations. In an emergency, every second counts," he added.

According to retired Traffic Engineer, Joseph Yee, Singapore has not implemented such a system due to its impact on overall traffic efficiency. Meanwhile Singapore Road Safety Council Vice Chairman and retired Traffic Planner, Menon Gopinath, believes the traffic priority system should be linked to the LTA's traffic control centre to minimise disruption to signal timings at other junctions or even the entire road network.