The ambulance sector has won a Computable Award 2021 in the Healthcare category with its innovative project 'Ambulances safer on the road by linking LSIV with C-ITS platform' together with Be-Mobile and CityGIS. Thanks to this innovation, smart traffic lights (iVRIs) can give ambulances a green light, allowing them safe passage when driving through an intersection. This is safer for both the ambulance team and the patient, and for other road users. They are also warned in time that an ambulance is approaching and can anticipate the situation. The project came about as a result of the 'Talking Traffic' partnership of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W).

Unique collaboration

The jury of the Computable Awards 2021 praised the fact that sector association Ambulancezorg Nederland took on such a large, technically difficult and complex project with so many stakeholders. The jury was enthusiastic about the good link with Talking Traffic and integration of available iVRIs, because this lays the foundation for safer traffic and faster deployment of ambulances throughout the country.

Ambulance care is innovative

At the end of October 2020, the members of the sector association Ambulancezorg Nederland (AZN) decided that all ambulance regions would connect to Talking Traffic via the national ICT systems of the sector. Traffic safety was the main driving force behind this. Koos Reumer, director of Ambulancezorg Nederland: "I am proud that the good IT infrastructure of ambulance care has made it possible for the ambulance sector to connect to Talking Traffic with a single link. The Computable Award is a great confirmation and emphasises how innovative ambulance care is. The ambulance sector is the first emergency service to connect to the Talking Traffic service on a national scale. A good development that promotes the safety of the patient, our staff and fellow road users and contributes to the flow of ambulances," said Reumer.

C-ITS platform

Be-Mobile is responsible for the construction and delivery of the C-ITS platform that enables communication between vehicles and smart traffic lights. The ambulance sector has now linked its own National Server for Incidents & Vehicles (LSIV), renewed by CityGIS, to this platform and thus connected all ambulances to the Talking Traffic infrastructure at once. When ambulances arrive in emergencies, the platform communicates vehicle positions to traffic lights to let the traffic lights 'know' an ambulance is approaching and the lights subsequently turn green.

In this way, a green carpet is rolled out for the ambulance. In addition, through apps or suitable navigation systems, other road users receive a warning, the so-called early warning, that an ambulance is approaching with urgency.

Converting traffic lights to iVRI

The new connection will gradually replace existing technology (such as Short-Range Devices (SRD)) for controlling traffic lights in the coming years. The advantage for the ambulance sector is that with this new method no special components are needed in the ambulances, as is currently the case. Over 1000 traffic lights have already been converted to iVRIs.Last spring, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management announced its intention to release an additional 10 million euros for the installation of extra iVRIs, which will be installed preferably on routes with the highest number of priority vehicles, such as ambulances.

About Be-Mobile and the Computable Awards

Be-Mobile is a smart mobility service provider, headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. Leveraging its expertise, Be-Mobile develops high-tech solutions in the areas of smart mobility, traffic monitoring and management, traffic information, mobile payment and toll collection to pave the way to smoother daily mobility.

The Computable Awards are the best-known ICT awards in the Netherlands. In 2021, they were awarded for the sixteenth time to companies, projects and individuals who have distinguished themselves in the past year.

Because AZN could not attend the Computable Award Show, Sander Hulshof of Computable handed the Computable Award 2021 to Koos Reumer, director of Ambulancezorg Nederland, in the presence of Mark Grefhorst of Be-Mobile and Carlos de Kok of CityGIS.