Ambulancezorg Nederland (AZN) has entered into a partnership with Be-Mobile for the construction and delivery of its own innovative C-ITS platform. With this platform, the ambulance sector connects on a national scale with the services developed within the Partnership Talking Traffic. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management works together with dozens of local authorities and market parties on innovative traffic applications. The Be-Mobile technology ensures that smart traffic lights can give ambulances a green light and thus a safe passage across an intersection. In addition, road users are warned in good time that an ambulance is approaching, so that they can anticipate this. This contributes to more safety on the road for road users, the ambulance team and the patient in the ambulance.

Road safety as a motive
At the end of October 2020, the members of the sector association Ambulancezorg Nederland (AZN) decided that all ambulance regions will connect to Talking Traffic via the national ICT systems of the sector, linked to a Be-Mobile platform. Road safety is the main driver for this. 

Victor Verrijp, chairman of the Innovation & ICT Management Committee, AZN: “The fact that this technology can significantly improve safety for all road users is motivation enough for us. By taking the route of the ambulance into account, a “Green Carpet” can be explained, as it were, and in the long term delays due to, for example, bridge openings and movable bollards can also be prevented ”.

A first in Europe
International supplier of smart mobility services Be-Mobile is proud that they have been selected by AZN to deliver the platform. “This is a very big step for the ambulance sector and a first in Europe”, says Jan Cools, CEO at Be-Mobile: “Because there is access to high-frequency data provision, directly from the national systems of the sector, we can use our technology use it optimally to facilitate prioritization of smart traffic lights and to warn other road users via apps such as Flitsmeister ”, continues Cools. "Be-Mobile guarantees the secure processing of the data, taking into account all the rules regarding privacy and the protection of personal data."

Wider implementation
The widespread introduction of Talking Traffic for all vehicles of emergency and emergency services in the Netherlands has been discussed for some time. After all, recent figures show that an accident, serious or otherwise, occurs at least once a week with an emergency vehicle that is forced to drive through a red light on its way to a calamity. With all its consequences. Consultations about this have been taking place for some time with the IFV, the Institute for Physical Security, which also includes the fire brigade, police and defense. "Prioritization by smart traffic lights for specific target groups is one example of what is possible with Talking Traffic," said Vincent Habers on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. 

'The broad application of Talking Traffic will of course receive a very positive impulse with the decision of AZN, which we are very happy with', Habers continues. Fortunately, it looks as though this step will be followed up by the fire brigade, police and defense in the short term. In more and more places in the Netherlands (by mid-December the counter is at almost 750 iVRIs, spread across the country and the number is steadily growing) we see smart traffic lights, making it possible to offer priority in this way. We see the positive effects of this in daily practice. Ambulances can then be warned with a green light instead of red over the intersection and other road users that an emergency and assistance service is approaching, so that they can anticipate this in time.

Good cooperation
Koos Reumer, AZN director: “The ambulance sector is the first Dutch emergency service to establish a link with Talking Traffic on a national scale. We are proud that we can realize developments such as these on such a large scale so quickly. This is mainly due to the good cooperation between all regional ambulance facilities (RAVs) that work continuously in an association (AZN) to improve and innovate our own sectoral ICT infrastructure. It is nice to be able to conclude that this is again bearing fruit. ” 

Be Mobile has been commissioned by AZN to realize the link with Talking Traffic in the first quarter of the new year.

In a city like Deventer, which is now fully equipped with smart traffic lights (51 in total), all emergency and emergency services, including the fire brigade and police, have been using Be-Mobile's Talking Traffic technology for quite some time and the reactions are very positive. . A pilot with priority provision via Be-Mobile has also been carried out for road inspectors who are allowed to use a blue flashing light.

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