Suwon's 'Emergency Vehicle Priority Signal System' Draws Nationwide Attention

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] The 'Emergency Vehicle Priority Signal System' developed by Suwon City as the nation's first is drawing keen interest from local governments nationwide.

The Integrated Urban Safety Center in Suwon has recently received consecutive visits from officials of local governments nationwide, as well as fire and police authorities. They are coming to benchmark the emergency vehicle priority signal system developed by the center's Traffic Information Team.

Lee Byeong-ho, an official at the Traffic Information Team, said, "Recently, officials from Incheon, Yeoju, and Paju have visited the center. We have established a technical support agreement with Ulsan, and Busan has requested dispatch of advisory committee members."

On the 23rd, officials from the relevant departments and fire and police authorities of Anseong City also visited the center to hear explanations from the Traffic Information Team and directly observe the system. Though their expressions suggested they did not readily understand from the explanation alone, when the system was demonstrated along with data, positive reactions poured in.

The Emergency Vehicle Priority Signal System began when the Traffic Information Team at Suwon City's Integrated Urban Safety Center was selected for a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport competition project in 2018. At that time, 400 million won out of the ministry's 2.9 billion won budget was allocated for establishing the emergency vehicle priority signal. Since Suwon hosts not only general hospitals but also the Gyeonggi Southern Trauma Center, the transportation of severe patients is frequent. There was a need to address this.

The system tracks the location of ambulances transporting severe patients such as stroke victims to general hospitals via GPS, and provides a green light in advance before the ambulance arrives at an intersection. As a result, ambulances can pass through intersections safely and quickly without stopping.

Testing conducted from April using two 119 ambulances showed a significant reduction in transport time from the hospital to receiving patients to general hospitals (Ajou University Hospital and Dong Suwon Hospital). As of now, patient transport time has been reduced by approximately 56 percent. Lee Byeong-ho said, "We can now transport severe patients from anywhere in Suwon to a general hospital in an average of 10 minutes or less."

The usage method is simple. All that is needed is a smartphone. After downloading the application on a smartphone registered with the center, users simply press the destination button such as Ajou University Hospital or Dong Suwon Hospital, and the fastest route is provided. The usage screen is no different from a typical navigation app. Ambulance drivers simply need to follow the directions.

Compared to the existing on-site control method for traffic signals, which requires installing repeaters at each intersection, costs can be significantly reduced. Lee Byeong-ho said, "To control 1,050 intersections in Suwon using the on-site control method would cost approximately 30 billion won just for repeater installation and maintenance. However, with the emergency vehicle priority method, all that is needed is a smartphone."

The emergency vehicle priority signal system is scheduled to expand from two ambulances this year to all 17 ambulances in Suwon next year. Plans are also in place to add Hwahong Hospital, a general hospital in the West Suwon area, in addition to the existing two hospitals.

Fire departments are expressing welcome for the system. Even in emergency situations involving transport of critical patients, ambulance personnel would face legal liability in case of traffic accidents, so the ability to reach hospitals safely and quickly is significant. Requests have also been made to apply the system to fire trucks in addition to ambulances.

Lee Byeong-ho said, "The system can be applied not only to ambulances but also to various transportation facilities such as trams, showing high expandability. I am pleased that the system developed by Suwon City is receiving attention not only from local governments nationwide but also from the central government."