How Maine Drivers Can Get Alerts That An Ambulance Is Headed Their Way

The notifications warn drivers that an ambulance is responding to an emergency nearby, so they can be aware and move over. The alerts appear through GPS on the vehicle's navigation, dashboard and on cellphones.

“We see accidents every day where vehicles are driving into police cars fire trucks, ambulances on the roadways," said North Yarmouth Fire Rescue Chief Gregory Payson. "They’re not aware that the scene is coming up onto them. You take a night like last night where it’s so foggy out you can’t see a quarter mile ahead of you. This will give you a little bit of a heads up that there’s an accident scene coming, and you keep a lookout for it so hopefully they can slow down ahead of time.”

Officials say this advance warning, in addition to traditional lights and sirens, has been proven to protect first responders and reduce the likelihood of secondary collisions near roadside incidents by up to 90 percent.

The program is available to any licensed ambulance in the state of Maine.

A grant from the National Highway Safety Grant Program pays for high-speed internet in ambulances to ensure there is internet connectivity for providers and the required EMS software programs.