When the call for emergency responders rings, the women and men who jump into action know there may be danger at the scene. But, the highest potential for danger actually occurs on the way to the call through collisions with motorists on the road. In fact, collisions are a leading cause of injury and death to emergency personnel.

The topics of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), Responder-to-Vehicle (R2V), and Responder-to-Responder (R2R) communication for emergency responders, continue to rise. To advance and protect the interests of the fire and emergency services community, we look to the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) to help facilitate healthy dialogue of such important and emerging safety topics. This article provides a general overview of R2V technology, why it’s important, and why solutions today simply aren’t doing enough.

It’s a common scenario: A fire crew is dispatched to an incident with sirens engaged and lights flashing—they’re counting on motorists to see them, hear them, and pull over. But, there are many impediments: The motorist does not see the flashing lights because he is distracted, or his nearly soundproof vehicle blocks out the siren noise, clogging the lane. Another motorist can’t tell where the truck is coming from so doesn’t react until it’s on his bumper. Or worse, a vehicle enters an intersection with the fire truck fast approaching, and a collision occurs. And, the same can happen between first responders rushing to the same scene.

The cost of such collisions is inherently obvious. It can cost cities upward of $1 million any time injuries are sustained—the ramifications transcend physical injury, insurance, and legal costs. Damage to vehicles as well as delays in the emergency crews reaching the original incident may worsen that situation.

Lights and Sirens

Everyone’s familiar with the sound of a blaring siren and flashing light, which we know means to pull over. But, driving behaviors today are making it more difficult to rely on that happening. The consumer driving experience has become highly refined and more luxurious, but it still ignores important factors. Auto manufacturers have introduced cars with near soundproof interiors and enhanced audio systems—so much so that drivers may not even hear the sirens at all—and in-dash infotainment systems plus mobile devices have drivers distracted with phone calls, texts, and content. By 2020, there will be more than 250 million connected vehicles on the road. Emergency crews cannot rely on motorists simply pulling over safely and quickly to let them through anymore.

Traffic Signal Preemption

Certain technologies are available to proactively give emergency vehicles the right-of-way by changing traffic signals or otherwise “preempting” traffic flow. While this can help prevent collisions at intersections, there are drawbacks. These systems require a direct line of sight to the emergency vehicle and will experience interference from the environment including weather, large passing trucks, and even tree branches. In addition, the cost of such solutions prohibits mass adoption, there is no outbound communication from that source, and the system works only within the city boundaries where the in