A scheme being implemented in Stockholm, Sweden will allow ambulances to interrupt the music being played in cars to let motorists know when they’re nearby.
Ambulances will be able to transmit radio signals that will reach nearby FM tuners using Radio Data Systems, which will let them interrupt the audio currently playing and present a text and voice message to notify drivers.
This signal is capable of taking control of radio broadcasts, as well as audio from CDs and Bluetooth devices.
The plan was introduced in a bid to reduce the amount of unaware drivers, who are only given a couple of seconds to react when an ambulance is speeding towards them. Mikeal Erneberg, an engineer who worked on the project, claims that they want the optimal warning time should be at least 10 – 15 seconds.
The warning time also adapts depending on where the driver is and how fast they’re travelling at the time. If motorists are on a motorway, then the warning will come early than if they were in congested traffic
Ambulances already have a very loud and obnoxious sirens to ensure that motorists are fully aware of them long before they get anywhere near a car, but this initiative will remove any kind of doubt. Motorists will not be able to claim ignorance when their radios aren’t able to play anything.
The team behind the project hopes that the technology will be present in two-thirds of Stockholm vehicles once it’s released in full, and so far there has been no word of plans to offer this technology to other countries.
