Excerpts from foxillinois.com:
Thirty-Seven intersections in Decatur currently have Opticom GPS units that switch stoplights for emergency vehicles, and on Monday, the Decatur City Council is expected to approve the purchase and installation of twelve more.
Opticoms are on nearly all downtown Decatur traffic lights, while vehicles have a device inside to notify the driver if they’ll have the green light.
The Decatur Fire Department says that additional intersections with the devices will help a lot in response time. City emergency vehicles first started using these devices in 2019 which help to shave dozens of seconds off of response times, which could be the difference between disaster and timely help.
The goal in the city’s 2020 budget was to have fifty intersections with this technology, and this new purchase will only get them to 49.
According to the city, those 12 new units would be upwards of $88,000.
#1 by crabbymilton on July 19, 2023 - 5:44 AM
Those are one of the best ideas that were ever invented to improve safety involving emergency vehicle traffic. Every controlled intersection ought have them. I know I always pay extra attention when I see those white lights flashing or on steady.