Ford trials technology that can turn traffic lights to green for emergency vehicles

Ford has started trialling connected technology that can turn traffic lights to green for emergency services vehicles, reducing waiting times and improving safety for blue-light responders.

As part of a broader project by the car firm looking at testing automated and connected vehicles and how they can ‘interact’ with road infrastructure, Ford used a road with various sets of consecutive traffic lights in Aachen, Germany.

With a Ford Kuga Plug-in Hybrid test vehicle, which featured on board units and hardware that can ‘communicate’ with traffic lights, for example, the car could act as an ambulance.

As it approached a set of lights, the vehicle could signal to turn them to green, with the controls returning to normal operation once the car had passed through. The technology is enabled through something known as C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) – a platform that can connect vehicles to roadside infrastructure and other vehicles and road users, with the aim of improving safety and reducing congestion.

Martin Sommer, working on Ford’s European automotive driving team, said: ‘Whether it’s a fire engine attending a blaze or an ambulance that is en route to an accident, the last thing anyone wants is for these drivers to be caught up among other vehicles waiting for the lights to change.”

Ford also trialled the technology for normal passenger cars, with the connected infrastructure automatically changing the Kuga’s adaptive cruise control speed to help minimise the time a driver is spent sat waiting at traffic lights. This includes slowing a vehicle down well ahead of a junction if a light is on red, reducing the need for harsh braking or being sat at a stop.

Michael Reinartz, director of consumer services and innovation at Vodafone Germany (which was also part of the project), added: “Exchanging data between cars, emergency vehicles and traffic lights in real time using the latest mobile phone technology makes road traffic safer and more efficient.

“Intelligent traffic light control helps save lives when every second counts and also reduces unnecessary waiting times and cuts emissions.”