A pilot project conducted by the VIAS road safety institute will see the vehicles of volunteer firefighters equipped with green emergency lights, Le Soir reports.
The flashing lights, known as courtesy lights, will be rolled out in a trial period from the start of August. Firefighters will use the flashing green beacons when travelling to the fire station in their own personal vehicles when called out in an emergency.
The flashing lights are intended to allow these priority vehicles to be identified by road users, who "should give way to them" whenever possible.
This forms part of a trial project which has been underway since April. In the first test phase, volunteer firefighters were not issued with the emergency lights. At the end of the trial this year, the road safety institute will compare results and assess whether these green flashing lights are effective.
The study is intended to assess whether special emergency lights will make volunteer firefighters feel safer when urgently travelling to their fire station. It is hoped that the emergency lights will encourage road users to let these vehicles pass quickly.
A similar system already exists in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
