LYT has signed a new agreement with the City of Elk Grove, California, for a pilot of LYT.emergency, the company’s emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) solution.

The pilot will initially be launched for 43 traffic signals, including two pedestrian crossings, along Laguna Boulevard, Bond Road, and Elk Grove Boulevard where emergency vehicles will receive preemption, according to a news release.

Clearing Traffic to Improve Response Times

This pilot rollout aims to improve emergency vehicle safety and travel times for first responders traveling to local emergency facilities by intelligently adjusting traffic lights to clear traffic along their path.

Accidents involving emergency vehicles — including fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars — are a major problem in the United States.

According to data published by the National Library of Medicine, vehicle fatality rates for emergency responders are estimated to be up to 4.8 times higher than the national average because emergency vehicles travel at higher speeds to reach crisis situations.

LYT’s NextGen emergency preemption solution enables traffic signals to adjust — based on real-time congestion — traffic in advance of approaching emergency vehicles.

Emergency vehicles will now be able to communicate directly with LYT’s EVP solution, enabling public safety fleets to deploy preemption capabilities in any vehicle, making emergency response and roadways safer throughout the Elk Grove region.

Signal preemption is similar to signal priority technology in that it's meant to prioritize certain vehicles. However, as a study out of Brigham Young University points out, when a vehicle like a transit bus requests signal priority, it requests the the signal controller to change to benefit them.

But since the request is only priority, depending on the phase the signal is on, the signal controller can choose if it will grant the priority, based on a number of factors. The signal controller is not required to always grant the request, so the request is only honored a portion of the time.

With signal preemption, when a vehicle sends a signal request message to the signal controller, the controller logic begins the safe process of adjusting the signal phasing to grant the preemption, Government Fleet has previously reported.

"Reliable and effective emergency vehicle preemption technology is essential in ensuring the safety and well-being of the entire Elk Grove community,” LYT CEO and Founder Tim Menard said. “In emergency situations, where every second counts, return to office and population growth stresses community roads. The need to implement and maintain reliable preemption technology is paramount. It's not just about facilitating quicker response times for our emergency responders; it's about saving lives and prioritizing the safety and security of local residents."