Ulsan Roads to Protect Golden Time... 'Vehicle-to-Everything' Emergency Vehicle Priority Signal System to Operate in April

Ulsan City Builds 18 Intersections Including Saneop-ro

Section where the emergency vehicle priority signal system is being established.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] An emergency vehicle priority signal system using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication will be operational in Ulsan starting this April.

The emergency vehicle priority signal system is a traffic system that supports dispatched vehicles in emergency situations such as fires to reach their destinations quickly without waiting at traffic signals. Its purpose is to prevent traffic accidents caused by emergency vehicles at signalized intersections.

In 2020, Ulsan City implemented emergency vehicle priority signals at three 119 Safety Centers in Samsan, Yugok, and Maegok, resulting in an average travel speed increase from 35.5 km/h to 44.0 km/h, a 23.9% improvement.

The newly established signal control system differs from the previously implemented central control method by applying vehicle-to-everything communication technology.

When a vehicle requests priority signal from the signal controller, the on-site signal controller detects the vehicle's approach and automatically controls the signals at the intersection to allow the vehicle to pass through quickly. This method effectively alleviates traffic congestion on surrounding roads caused by emergency vehicle priority signals, making it more efficient than the central control method.

By applying vehicle-to-everything communication technology to emergency vehicles, it will be possible to exchange information with autonomous vehicles in the future, enabling safer passage through intersections.

This project, promoted as a specialized service of the “Autonomous Driving Intelligent Road (Smart Road) Construction” project, a pledge of the 7th local government administration, has been installed at a total of 18 intersections (18 km) under the jurisdiction of the Northern Fire Station.

The installation locations are ▲ 3 sites on Baksangjin 1-ro ▲ Songjeong District Entrance Intersection ▲ Songjang Village Entrance Three-way Intersection ▲ Ulsan Airport Intersection ▲ Hwabong Intersection ▲ Intersection in front of Ulsan Economic Promotion Agency ▲ Hyomun Intersection Hyundai Motor Delivery ▲ Hyojeong Three-way Intersection ▲ Sanseong Village (Hyomun Intersection) ▲ Jinjang Intersection, Korea Polytechnic University ▲ Seodong Intersection ▲ In front of Seodong Saemaeul Geumgo ▲ In front of Samil Elementary School, among others.

An official from Ulsan City stated, “This system will shorten the dispatch time of emergency vehicles during various disasters such as emergency patient transport or fire rescue, securing the golden time.”

Prior to the implementation of the emergency vehicle priority signal service, Ulsan City conducted a simulation using the Traffic Operation and Management Monitoring System (TOMMS), which showed an increase in travel speed from approximately 14 km/h to 33 km/h, an increase of about 19 km/h.

Accordingly, travel time was analyzed to decrease from the previous 10 minutes 40 seconds to 4 minutes 30 seconds, shortening by about 60% (6 minutes 10 seconds).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.