BURNABY, B.C. - Burnaby city councilors hope a high-tech traffic control system will prevent crashes between residents and emergency vehicles, according to http://www.canada.com.

Recently, the Burnaby council approved a $3-million system that gives police cars and fire trucks the ability to change traffic signals during emergencies.

Using global positioning satellite (GPS) technology, the system sends a signal that changes the operation of traffic lights, giving emergency vehicles priority.

"With survival rates critical to the arrival time of emergency crews, this can add up to several minutes saved over the route travelled," a staff report from Burnaby Fire Chief Bob Cook says."Collisions involving emergency responders can also be reduced."

Different kinds of vehicles would trigger a different kind of response from traffic signals, and the GPS system would be able to calculate the speed of the emergency vehicle and time the signal change in response, the report notes.