By Christopher Lidom
KUCHING, May 6: Malaysia’s first Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption (EVP) traffic light system is currently being tested near the Simpang Tiga traffic light junction and is expected to start operations by the second half of this year.
Built by a Sarawakian consortium for an initiative under Kuching South City Council (MBKS), the system will always prioritise ambulance lanes for green lights during emergencies to prevent them from being knocked into by another vehicle while crossing the traffic light.
By integrating the existing SCATS intelligent traffic light platform with GPS Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology, existing traffic light junctions were able to automatically detect any incoming ambulance equipped with a GPS beacon and provide greenlight passage to it even before it arrives.
Speaking during the proof-of-concept (POC) run held at Jalan Mendu-Jalan Simpang Tiga traffic light junction today, Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, who is also Minister for Public Health, Housing, and Local Government Sarawak, said the initiative is part of the fulfilment of Sarawak’s aspiration towards digital transformation.
He also commended the local talent that came up with the system.
“Sarawak has its own talent, and we can do it too. There would be no need to purchase the technology from overseas. Apart from that, we can also sell this technology to countries such as Singapore,” he added.
Meanwhile, MBKS mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng said that the POC run will be held until the end of June before it is implemented and expanded to other authority vehicles.
“The system currently only runs for ambulance vehicles, and later will be used by all the enforcement agencies such as Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), and many others, including private hospital vehicles,” he said. — DayakDaily
