New traffic devices help responding paramedics | News

North Port, Florida -- The City of North Port recently received an award of $18,375 for GPS-based traffic pre-emption devices for its rescue vehicles.

These vehicle-mounted devices will send location data to control boxes at 13 intersections with traffic lights. The device will turn the lights green in the travel direction and red in opposite directions. The goal of this project is to reduce dispatch-to-scene response and hospital transport times, thereby improving patient outcome and survival rates.

"This system should reduce our dispatch-to-scene and transport times, as well as increasing our safety through intersections," said Fire Chief William Taaffe in a release. "This will get our paramedics to the patient much faster and provide for a quicker transport to an emergency facility."

For nearly 10 years, the City of North Port has experienced a tremendous growth in population and corresponding use of its roadways. Increased traffic congestion and additional traffic lights have increased dispatch-to-scene response and hospital transport times.

With the funding from this grant, North Port Fire Rescue will install traffic pre-emption transmitting devices in all six of the City's advanced life support rescue ambulances to use a system currently being installed throughout Sarasota County. The total cost of the system, which is being funded by the County's One Cent Sales tax, is $2 million.

The County currently has a bid out for the procurement of the system, of which the City will piggyback its purchase. Each emergency service provider is responsible for the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of the vehicle-based control unit. The entire system, across Sarasota County, should be in-service by year's end. 

Info courtesy City of North Port