The speed limit sign is now for fire trucks
While there is a good chance this will mean they will be traveling at a speed less than most of the vehicles on the road, firefighters of the Burlington Fire Department have been told to obey the posted speed limit in the Ontario city. The policy starts immediately and is in place until September 30 when it will be reevaluated.
The aim is to improve safety while maintaining response times.
Deputy fire chief Robin McDowell says slower fire trucks might seem counter-intuitive at first, but slower trucks are unlikely to collide with other vehicles on the road.
“We run into many occasions where our trucks are … behind a vehicle and [the other vehicles on the road will] freeze right on the spot, they’ll pull to the left, they’ll pull to the right, sometimes they’re just shocked at the speed at which they’re approached and they’re scared,” he said.
The fire department is also using a new technology that it hopes will clear congestion at intersections.
Fire trucks are now equipped with a strobe light that can change any of the city’s 180 traffic lights from red to green.
“By coming a little slower, the light changes sooner, so the light should be changed before we even get there, allowing the cars to clear the intersection before the truck even gets there. And then, by the time the truck does get there, normally it has a clear path,” said McDowell.
