The city of Ghent deployed its first intelligent traffic lights on Tuesday. These are designed to automatically give green signals to emergency services in urgent situations at all intersections.
The Flemish road network is one of the busiest in Europe, causing frequent delays for emergency vehicles. So-called intelligent traffic lights reduce such delays by prioritising emergency vehicles. This not only speeds up their response times but also enhances safety at intersections, allowing emergency services to avoid dangerous manoeuvres.
To communicate with these intelligent traffic lights, fire engines and ambulances must have an application or built-in information system capable of requesting priority.
Other road users can also benefit from this technology. By using a traffic app, drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians can receive real-time traffic information and adjusted times of the light being green. The intelligent lights adapt based on real-time traffic data, leading to smoother flow and fewer unnecessary delays.
No additional lights are added – instead, existing traffic lights will be equipped with the necessary technology. With this initiative, Flanders has achieved a European first in smart mobility solutions. The service was developed under the Mobilidata programme by the Flemish government and research centre imec, and it is supported by the European Union.
