If you’ve ever been in traffic and heard the sounds of an ambulance siren behind you, you understand how nerve-racking it can be to be stuck at a traffic signal with nowhere to go. If you happen to live in Canada, that’s not a problem. That’s because ambulance drivers in Canada can change traffic lights through traffic signal preemption, a system that allows traffic lights to change in the event of an emergency. This process allows for the ambulance to move along safely, while getting to the scene of an accident or to a hospital faster. When the traffic light signals detect the sirens and the device in the ambulance, the lights will automatically change to green so that the ambulance can cross safely. Not only does this allow the ambulance to arrive at the scene safely, it keeps pedestrians safe and allows oncoming traffic to cross safely.
