SEYMOUR, Ind. – The Seymour Fire Department is in the process of activating its new Emergency Traffic Light Preemption System along U.S. 50 at Tipton Street and at two other intersections in Seymour.
The preemption system gives the ability of an approaching emergency vehicle to stop the typical operation of the traffic signal and give the approaching emergency vehicle a green light. All other signals will turn red until the emergency vehicle passes through the intersection.
Fire Chief Brad Lucas said on social media that the system will reduce the response time of emergency vehicles and lower the number of intersection crashes between emergency vehicles and other cars.
Indicator lights have been installed on the traffic light spans on U.S. 50, plus at the intersections of Broadway and Second Streets and Ewing and Sixth Streets, to help the public and emergency vehicles see the system is activated.
A constant white light indicates an emergency vehicle is coming up behind you, and you need to move forward through the green light and get out of the way to the best of your ability. If the white light is flashing, then you need to stop until emergency vehicles have cleared the area.
Seymour is starting preemption services with fire trucks but should have other emergency vehicles using the system soon. Each vehicle will have a special code to access the preemption devices.