Drivers in Istanbul will hear the radio announcement "Please give way to the ambulance"

A special device was developed using advanced radio frequency module engineering techniques by doctors at the Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate's Emergency Health Services Directorate to directly inform drivers when the ambulance siren cannot be heard due to heavy traffic or noise.

The device installed in ambulances will operate over the FM band, broadcasting warnings on frequencies within 50 meters of vehicles and simultaneously transmitting announcements to in-car radios: "Please give way to ambulance," "Please give way to approaching ambulance," and "Please give way to life by applying the zipper system."

Thanks to the system, drivers will be able to turn in the right direction and give way to ambulances without panicking.

The project aims to encourage drivers to give way to ambulances, to instill the habit of giving way correctly using the "zipper method," to prevent second accidents caused by panic caused by the sound of sirens, and to increase patients' chances of survival.

With the new system, the waiting time for ambulances at traffic lights and busy intersections will be reduced, patients will be reached in less time, more lives will be saved, and the awareness that "Giving way to an ambulance is not a choice, but a matter of life" will be established in society.

The study also aims to create a model that can be integrated with traffic safety projects at the European Union (EU) level.

Istanbul Provincial Health Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdullah Emre Güner told an AA correspondent that their efforts to solve all kinds of health problems faced by citizens in Istanbul continue.

Güner stated that it is important to transport citizens quickly to health facilities in emergency health services, and that ambulance services have an important place in this regard.

Güner emphasized that when citizens call the 112 Emergency Call Center, they are in a race against time. "The most important thing here is to quickly get the patient from their current location to the right doctor and treatment center. We are good at this. We can reach our citizens in eight minutes in the city and approximately 12 to 13 minutes in rural areas," he said.

Güner stated that one of Istanbul's biggest problems is traffic, and that for this reason, it can take longer for ambulances to reach cases during rush hour.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Güner stated that they provide health services to citizens with 507 ambulances at 350 emergency health stations in Istanbul.

Güner emphasized that the Ministry of Health implemented the zipper system to solve the problems experienced by ambulances in traffic, and said that the zipper system has been successfully implemented in Istanbul.

Güner explained that ambulances in Istanbul warn vehicles in traffic with sirens and headlights, saying, "No matter how many warnings you use with headlights and sirens, sometimes our drivers can't even notice the ambulance is coming. We're launching a special program in Istanbul. We'll be tapping into the vehicle's radio frequency and broadcasting alerts that the ambulance is arriving while drivers are listening to music or the radio. This is a system similar to the warnings used on highways, bridges, and tunnels."

Güner, stating that the pilot program will be expanded to all of Istanbul, said, "This program is a first in Türkiye and the world. This is a significant indicator for us. We are in Istanbul, the world's health capital. We should be the first to implement it."

Dr. Abdurrahman Kavuncu, Head of Istanbul Emergency Health Services, stated that Istanbul is one of the cities with the heaviest traffic problems in the world.

Kavuncu emphasized that ambulances are late taking patients to health facilities due to heavy traffic, and said they are trying to shorten the time for this reason.

Kavuncu explained that they worked diligently to solve the problem and developed a new system, saying, "What we created was a radio broadcast based on the logic of making announcements on the radios other drivers listen to daily. This radio broadcast then penetrated the radios of surrounding vehicles, pulled them to a different channel than the one they were listening to, and then delivered our message there."

Kavuncu emphasized that their system is an engineering effort, saying, "The product we've developed has a radio frequency that can broadcast within a radius of 30 to 200 meters. We can adjust this range ourselves. We can set it to 50 meters or 100 meters. This will increase the sensitivity and awareness of surrounding drivers."

Dr. Kavuncu emphasized that they wanted to raise awareness among drivers on the road and noted:

We want to emphasize the importance of yielding to approaching ambulances, and we want to implement the zipper model. It will benefit us. Most importantly, it will enable them to reach our patients faster. Sensitive drivers sense the approaching ambulance's siren trying to yield and feel stressed. This can lead to secondary accidents or even failure to yield. We will eliminate this anxiety. The product is a product of our own engineering. It has been very successful. We aim to expand the product to all ambulances in the system. We believe this will not only help us reach our patients more safely but also enable them to be transported more safely. Our siren and light warning devices will continue to operate. In addition, we will be communicating our request to our drivers via radio frequency.