Fire Department Uses High-Tech Tool To Stop Traffic

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 reported.

"When we started looking at the statistics for the first time, I thought no way," said Liberty Township Fire Chief Tim Jensen.

Jensen said that response times are down by 40 percent.

The system uses GPS technology and estimates the time it takes for a fire truck or ambulance to get to an intersection allow the lights to cycle through from yellow to red in time for the vehicles to cross, Smith reported.

"Being a driver, you feel much safer, having the ability to go through a clear intersection and not having to go on the left side of traffic, which puts us at greater risk for an accident, makes everybody feel a lot better," said Jensen.
 
According to Jensen, all 35 intersections in Liberty Township and all 18 department vehicles have the Opticom installed.

"We have saved many lives, we are contributing to saving many lives this way," said firefighter and paramedic Mickey Smith.

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