Citation

Weiss H. IMSA J. 1996; 34(6): 18-26.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, International Municipal Signal Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In the past, traffic engineers have supported their fire chief and other emergency response officials when requested to implement a traffic preemption system, but seldom have they actually taken the initiative to implement preemption. It is easy to see why. Preemption will add complexity and disturb the city's tuned and coordinated traffic control system to some degree. And there have been problems associated with preemption. Here are some of the major ones: Inadequate control over preemption timing; Inability to handle curved approaches; Inability to anticipate turns; Susceptibility to false preemptions; Abuse of preemption; Failure to turn off preemption; Need for maintenance. This article looks at the high-tech solution -- a GPS system with two-way digital radio and digital processing power.