In an automotive society whose structure increasingly depends heavily on cars, the National Police Agency is tackling the problem of operation support of emergency vehicles for such occurrences as incidents, accidents, emergency cases, etc., in order to manage traffic appropriately. This support of emergency vehicle operations is considered to be one of nine developing fields in the entire concept of Japan's ITS. Recently, more and more emergency vehicles have to be dispatched to deal with an increasing crime rate, a growing number of accidents and problems with the elderly. Against this background, it is indispensable for the Police Administration, as the manager of traffic manager and an important instrument for maintaining peace and order, to help emergency vehicles in urgent situations reach the scene at the earliest possible moment, and prevent accidents during operations. Fast emergency preemption systems (FAST) have a two-way communication function through the use of an infrared beacon, which is the key infrastructure of a traffic control system. Such a system supports the operation of emergency vehicles in a safe and effective manner by using route guidance, priority signal control and warns civilian vehicles about approaching emergency vehicles. (A*)
Abstract