Pre-emption lights, the strobe light that changes traffic lights, are they also called OPTICOM? Thought about that after the north Minneapolis chase and death. Worked as a news dispatcher and Sunday mornings were Opticom Sunday's test in St. Paul Car fires are a mystery to me. Sure in cold weather batteries and gaskets burst, catalytic converters overheat? Think Japanese cars come with extinguishers on the passenger side.
Yep! Totally the same thing. The N. MPLS crash had the Opticom triggered but light was in the process of changing. (Based on video from gas station surveillance.)
Opticom is a brand name (it's a portmanteau of "optical" and "communication"). Interestingly, modern Opticom systems are more complicated than merely a strobe flashing at the correct frequency. Now, they can transmit data meaning that only authorized vehicles can preempt the light and there's a log of what vehicle has preempted what light.
My community has had OPTICONS for 45 years. It helps the public because a non-flashing light means the emergency vehicle is going the same direction as you. If the light is flashing look for the emergency vehicle coming to the intersection from a different than where you are headed. I have seen times where the road has been cleared for the emergency vehicle for several intersecctions ahead and the response time is greatly reduced saving life and property.
I practically yell at the video every time someone doesn't get out of the way. Some people shouldn't drive if they can't react to emergency lights. Don't sit there and think about it, you're in the way and maybe they are going to help save someone in YOUR family! Great job officer 👏👍😎🇨🇦🙏
@James328 Good morning James, many years ago when i was a young man i used to do this job as a Traffic Officer here in my country New Zealand. What you have mentioned here was very annoying as we could not get past them, even sometimes we are sitting right behind them with lights and siren. Sometimes we managed to pull them over further on and question them, 'why'? The most common explanation was, 'we had the stereo going plus we were all talking', and, 'no, didn't look in the rear view mirror'. One occasion i did a mercy dash from my base town to another major town hospital carrying a father and his small child (a girl), the child having overdosed on adult medication. It was a journey of 20 miles plus, and i remember clearly how this problem occurred several times on the two way highway, preventing me from overtaking. Not good. Bob. NZ.
Drivers who panic 🤦🏻♂️ 1:25 car brakes then panics signals right slows down then merges left with right signal still on. Props to the cop for predicting their stupidity
@@thomasfletcher4765 FedEx was fine, he couldn't move right because of the red truck. The black car acted like they haven't look in their rearview for 20 miles and then did nothing to move except slow down.
@@hyun1141 why is exclusively posting negative news about the police a great thing? If the Media weren't a bunch of hacks they would show both sides instead, they exclusively show the negative side for both rating's and to help wedge the divide between the community and police.
Yeah that cop did great jumped out of his car with a fire extinguisher as though he was going to try to put a fire out didn't even try didn't even jump out and run to try to put it out nonchalantly got out of his car walk to the front of it looking like he's going to try but gave no effort yeah great job good trooper even the fake news new this was b******* to report on
@@GeekBoyMN thats not true and you dont seem to understand how the system works. the pre-emption device is a camera thats senses emergency vehicles with their flashings lights on and the camera flashes a white light to let the first responders know that it sees them and that its changing the light for them. you cant install one in your car
@@steelwitness There is a device that mounts on the vehicle and flashes a specific pattern that triggers the preemption system that changes the lights. Civilians have gotten them and used them to get around cities. When caught they have been fined and/or jailed depending on local laws.
ive been a volunteer firefighter for some time and our area ran tests on the pre-emption lights but i know most of us firefighters hated them. they were training us to wait for the pre-emption to turn the light green before going which in a lot of cases made our response times longer than before. i guess its more necessary in areas with worse drivers.
Minnesota is one of the states along with most of Illinois where preemption systems have the white lights. Wisconsin has opticom/preemption detectors pretty much in any city but the white light indicators are not universal here.
Illinois has a lot of them for sure. Obviously they are not in every county but they are in a lot of populated areas and work for fire/ems as well as police
The thing that makes it so the pre-emotive device (the white light on traffic lights that flashes when an emergency vehicle comes through running code) is activated by a device called an “Opticon” or automatically turns on when you turn on the emergency lights. It can also be turned off manually in case an officer stops someone near an intersection so it isn’t flashing the whole time he is nearby. Fun fact
i studied in the Netherlands , the Opticom system is used everywhere by emergency. But also it is used for the buslines so the bus can have priority . usually emergency vehicles use the buslines.
Hehe. He realized there was not a life safety concern. Once you have fire running under the vehicle, extinguishment may require more than that dry chem can hold. Excellent response, even protected the number 2 lane for the firefighter. He even gave the driver a rude off the highway. I salute you for some fantastic professional work!
I woulda grabbed it from his dumasz and sprayed my car myself if he obviously wasnt going to. That fire was tiny then the video cuts cause he wasted too much time fumbling around digging it out of the trunk
@@JimHerbertOutdoors not a flipping chance a little 5lb fire extinguisher was going to do anything to that fire. Our fire chief used to say "you're past your deductible." Insurance isn't going to fix a burned out car no matter what.
I am retired from the Olympia, WA PD. Back in the old days - in the 60's and 70's - we had traffic signals that were controlled from the radio dispatch center. If you were on an emergency run you radioed to dispatch to give you "the lights" and the direction of your travel. "Give me the downtown lights," or the east, or west, or south lights and the dispatch folks would flip a switch in the center and turn all traffic signals in the appropriate direction green. So, they existed back then, but they weren't automatic as they are today. All emergency departments could use the system.
@@1MiketheMechanic I was up there for a few months on a contract. You would think it was illegal to drive in the right lane based upon my experiences. I overtook on the right more in the 2 months I was there, then the prior 20 years as a driver.
A lot of idiots here in Minnesota. Idiots will drive in the left lane all day long. Stalling traffic, thinking they are entitled. I don't get it. Get the fxxK out of the left lane!!!!!
Pre-emption is very much in use in eastern PA in the counties surrounding Philadelphia and has been for at least 25+ years. I've been installing them on police, fire and EMS vehicles since the mid-90's. In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to be in possession of and use an emitter if you are not authorized under the state vehicle code.
On traffic lights near grade crossings, all the white lights will flash when the crossing signals are active, as those can also force traffic lights into a special phase (in the case of crossings, this to clear the crossing itself and then block access to it while the train is passing). All white lights while flash because trains have higher priority for pre-emption than even emergency vehicles. The flashing light indicates that pre-emption is not possible, while solid white indicates a successful one. Pro tip: If you're at a light and the solid white comes on, look behind you
Thank you MN Safety for explaining how Opticom works. It really is a great tool for us emergency responders to use. One thing i might add is, we can also hold green lights in our favor, instead of waiting for the next cycle to turn green.
@@almilhouse9059 it's all about who can get to the detector first. Even with that said, you still have to proceed with caution. You can't go flying through an intersection with lights and sirens on.
It's also a great tool for screwing up an intersection when someone forgets to turn off the opticom emitter and their vehicle happens to be parked facing the intersection.. I've seen that happen twice over the last 10 years, in both cases the intersection had no confirmation light so maybe that's another reason to have one.
In my county the OPTICOM law enforcement (both county and cities) fire, ems and even transit uses them. I believe transit only uses them at intersections near transit centers and transfer stations.
I've only had this happen once. Saw a car blow a tire and pull over so I followed them to the shoulder, as I'm already a roadside assistance tech. Talked the shaky driver down from their brief panic attack and went about getting the spare tire out and smelled smoke. Dropped down and looked under the car and, sure enough, the exhaust had caught a bit of taller grass on fire. I swatted it out and told the driver to move forward back onto the paved shoulder, which he did while I stomped out the rest of the fire. If someone had not been there to notice the fire the driver might've been in for a real costly surprise, just like this unfortunate fellow.
I wonder if that non-professional FedEx driver had moved over to the right (or not been in the left lane where his vehicle didn’t belong anyways) if the trooper would’ve had enough time to get there to put out the small fire underneath the gas tank prior to its ignition. That FedEx driver was the only vehicle that we saw that couldn’t be bothered getting out of the way of the trooper. FEDEx, screwing the roads over since day one.
Please help stop these contractors I was a carpenter never given protection or even warned of the dangers when dry drilling into concrete and dry cutting fiber cement board siding now I have scarring in my lungs and worry everyday I will die from silicosis with no hope no cure no treatments everyday across the subdivisions in there are people still dry cutting and dry drilling into concrete it has turned my entire life upside down and wish 1 person would have told me so I could have left immediately I reported this to osha and nothing was done the contractor still do it to this day. Please help stop this its killing a lot of us I don't understand why the contractors are not criminally charged for this
Thumbs down to the stupid driver with his right-hand blinker on and then moves left. Those opticon-style traffic light changers are awesome! Our small town debated on installing a few on the main downtown streets since the fire station is located there, but the mayor decided he needed a raise instead. Kudos to Minnesota for embracing the technology!
Opticoms are great. Not sure if you mentioned it or not however if the light it steady it means the emergency vehicle is coming from behind you. If the light is flashing it means they are coming from a different lane.
if the light is flashing it means that the opticom has detected conflicting calls for pre-emption, and the side with the flashing light came last, so it tells the emergency vehicle driver that they won't be getting a green.
Jesus people just refuse to slow down on the scene. Unreal how they can't be inconvenienced for 20 seconds to avoid hitting a responder or crashing cause they can't see thru the smoke. I love the light changer. Increases response time drastically
Yes! I definitely wanted to include this for discussion. I don’t think they could move right because of the sedan blocking the middle lane. But what do you think?
@@MidwestSafety Fed Ex Truck IMO did the right thing..Stayed in his lane and looked like he slowed down a little, lane was blocked by another vehicle...Wasnt able to move over fast enough with the speed of the patrol vehicle...
@@MidwestSafety the car in middle lane just past the FedEx at around 1:29 started blinking right but didn’t move over and then just hit brakes as cruiser was behind him! Grrr!
The most obvious subject, the reason for the car catching on fire is seldom mentioned: faulty non existent maintenance. The US fails to set up yearly or two year car safety inspection cycles. Fuel leaks, corroded/damaged fuel tank supports and lines, etc. are the causes of most car fires. So there is an abundance of car fires per day in the US. Glad no one was hurt.
Currently there are 14 states that require annual vehicle inspections and 5 that require biennial inspections. Most other states only require inspections the first time a vehicle is registered.
Never was the smoke thick enough to not see through. Judging by how long the trooper drove to get to the fire, they may have been the only one in the area.
I believe Opticoms were developed by 3M in the beginning, I was told? They were a good device but even with our giant red trucks making huge amount of noise and lit up like christmas trees, we still had and were trained to exercise intersection caution because well...you know.
When I lived in Southern California for a long couple of years, some type of device like that was very common on stoplights. I don't remember any type of spotlight, so I don't think it was exactly the same. They were triggered by the flashing lights of an emergency vehicle, and while it was illegal, it was extremely common to see random cars flash their high beams a couple times to trigger it.
I knew someone who was convinced that flashing their headlights at a traffic signal would get the light to change late at night. What he was unaware of is that late at night many traffic signals operate "on demand" and will give a green fairly quickly if they don't sense any opposing traffic.
What were you saying about pre-emptive lights? I was sucked into watching that FedEx driver and black sedan who couldn’t move over even though their blinker was on… Holy crap that is a fire!!! Damn!!
My dad was on the team that worked on that project at 3M.. Back in the late 70s.. Early 80s. I believe St. Paul and Maplewood police departments were first to use the system.. It was along time ago...
First off, the gas tank wasn’t involved or else it would have taken longer to extinguish due to gasoline being on ground, plus it would have taken foam to put it out. Second, there should be an automatic jail term of 3 days to anyone who doesn’t get out of the way for responding emergency vehicles..
Here in Northern Virginia, they first started installing pre-emption about 15 years ago.. But they were too cheap to spend the additional money for the white confirmation light. I mean, gosh, that might have added another $500 per intersection.
@@MidwestSafetyVirginia's cheapness never ceases to amaze me. It's ingrained in the culture around here to do everything as cheaply and half-ass as possible.
@@brianleeper5737 I agree. Not only is Virginia cheap, but they're also one of, if not the most strict state in the USA. So many dumb rules we have to abide by.
Has nothing to do with being cheap, the light serves as a confirmation light primarily was meant to tell responders that the light "sees you", later versions can digitally respond give you a confirmation on the controller that the light hears you. The cost of the extra lights is actually quite abit significantly more than 500$, I think the difference in quote on the system is in the neighborhood of about 1k per traffic light
In the old days the opti-com used huge oil filled strobes to change the lights. Now they use infrared “strobes” that are about the size of a cigarette pack to do it. 3M is the biggest company to make the light control system. If you notice the light by the traffic light is on steady one way and the other 3 blink. The officer with the steady light has control of the intersection in case other vehicles are approaching the intersection. Trains are converting to this system also to control lights and crossings.
No need too, fire truck was on a ramp and vehicle was on shoulder and traffic was moving over. Why cause a 3 mile back up that may only cause more accidents?
If you have an under the hood fire it might be only the size of your fist but less than a second after you open the hood that fire is the size of a clothes washer. Air flow is one thing that feeds it. That happened to my Mustang in my feature picture in March of 1989. You could quickly burn your hands or more.
seem like every state does it differently for the pre emt lights. I know CA does this as well but in a slightly different way they do have sensors on a lot of the lights here but they do not have a little white light with them. it just changes automatically on them from a strobe light that has an embedded infrared light on it to change the light to green but not all lights have them in CA
1:30 I swear there is nothing worse than a driver who "freezes" and fails to take action when there is, for example, an emergency vehicle with the lights and siren on behind them. How does one not just immediately take action to get the heck out of the way? That was infuriating to watch.
They probably have a warrant out for their arrest or are in a stolen car and think the cops are coming for them. lol. They don't know if they should pull over or run. Other than that, they are clueless morons behind the wheel.
Good example of when not to try using a fire extinguisher. Had the driver had a 5 or 10 pound ABC, and hit the fire while very small may have saved the car. [But never worth risking lungs, skin, eyes and life for a car!]
Is this all "real time" response? If so Bravo 3:40 from call to on scene! and out in 7 minutes!? That is damn fine work!!......Curious here in Tx radio code for arrived on scene is 10-23 is it the same there?
And the great little device can tie up and intersection for an hour if the timing is right. When squads come through a couple of minutes apart. And the light doesn't go back to where it was when interrupted. Might as well put it in park and turn the engine off. You're going to be awhile.
I always thought that it was common sense to program the traffic signal to give a green to the busiest legs of the intersection when the pre-emption ends. This is called the "exit phase". But I've seen many of them that give a green to the lightly-used side street instead, which makes me think that the people who program these things just leave it at the default setting.
Drivers are told to merge right when emergency vehicles are approaching, therefore it's unsafe for emergency vehicles to pass people on the right when lights and sirens are activated.
@@leerilea1709 Sad that you have to throw out insults, to a person stating facts. That's usually a sign of lack of intelligence. I've seen other agencies over come that issue by giving drivers a few extras seconds as they charge siren tone and use air horn, or turning off lights and sirens for a second as they pass on the right, then turn them back on. Don't bother responding i don't care your opinion. Passing on the right with lights and sirens is unsafe . That's a fact.
@@seth9871 whatever. You are very misinformed. People simply do not obey the law, to ignore that fact is ignorant, and you are hurling insults more than I.
@@bloc0102 Flashing is to indicate to an approaching emergency vehicle driver that the opticom has detected their approach, but will not be giving them a green right away because another emergency vehicle coming from a different direction has already gotten the green.
@@brianleeper5737 while true, I have noticed all three other directions flashing when I could see them, with only one emergency vehicle approaching (I'm guessing this varies by location).
2 things, UK government not only encourages but effectively orders the UK public to exit their cars when they are broken down on the side of a road. This guarantees their safety. Because a percentage of disabled cars at the side of the road get destroyed when other vehicles plow right in to them at speed killing all the occupants. The UK public have been successfully trained that pretty much everyone does it now. UK police would have closed that road. but yours allowed traffic to continue rolling by and allowed the driver to walk within 10 feet of the car.
It’s a lot easier to manage and do that when your nation is a tiny island all of our states have different rules and regulations we also don’t have public transportation as easily accessible as you guys do so we rely on our roads a lot cant just shut them down you’ll impact a lot of people
Just a question: Wouldn’t it have been wise to stop traffic while the fire is raging and for the fire company, that’s spraying through it into the lanes of travel? Seems like it would reduce any possibility of any damage to passing cars, especially if it blew. The pre-emption lights are very cool. Why isn’t something like that mandated throughout the country? Because it’s too much like right? Or, at the least, in areas where we see all of the car chase videos. On second thought, would that always give the running vehicle a green light? If the cop is close enough, I guess. Hmmm….
In the case of a fully involved vehicle. I would have assumed the highway should have been shut down? You never know if any debris could have blown off the car when the tank or tires ignited.
For those of you who live in Minnesota, what happens if I hit one of those pre-emption lights with a powerful strobe flashlight. Will the light turn green?
Pre-emption lights, the strobe light that changes traffic lights, are they also called OPTICOM? Thought about that after the north Minneapolis chase and death. Worked as a news dispatcher and Sunday mornings were Opticom Sunday's test in St. Paul
Car fires are a mystery to me. Sure in cold weather batteries and gaskets burst, catalytic converters overheat? Think Japanese cars come with extinguishers on the passenger side.
Yep! Totally the same thing. The N. MPLS crash had the Opticom triggered but light was in the process of changing. (Based on video from gas station surveillance.)
Opticom is a brand name (it's a portmanteau of "optical" and "communication"). Interestingly, modern Opticom systems are more complicated than merely a strobe flashing at the correct frequency. Now, they can transmit data meaning that only authorized vehicles can preempt the light and there's a log of what vehicle has preempted what light.
Deteriorating fuel lines, bad oil leaks, electrical short circuits can all cause car fires. That's why most car fires tend to be older vehicles.
My community has had OPTICONS for 45 years. It helps the public because a non-flashing light means the emergency vehicle is going the same direction as you. If the light is flashing look for the emergency vehicle coming to the intersection
from a different than where you are headed. I have seen times where the road has been cleared for the emergency vehicle for several intersecctions ahead and the response time is greatly reduced saving life and property.
@@Cyrano817 Thanks, trying to think if I hear a siren or see light first, flashing = crossing street, Solid same street, hopefully not behind me 🤨
I practically yell at the video every time someone doesn't get out of the way. Some people shouldn't drive if they can't react to emergency lights. Don't sit there and think about it, you're in the way and maybe they are going to help save someone in YOUR family! Great job officer 👏👍😎🇨🇦🙏
Agree!
@James328 Good morning James, many years ago when i was a young man i used to do this job as a Traffic Officer here in my country New Zealand. What you have mentioned here was very annoying as we could not get past them, even sometimes we are sitting right behind them with lights and siren. Sometimes we managed to pull them over further on and question them, 'why'?
The most common explanation was, 'we had the stereo going plus we were all talking', and, 'no, didn't look in the rear view mirror'.
One occasion i did a mercy dash from my base town to another major town hospital carrying a father and his small child (a girl), the child having overdosed on adult medication. It was a journey of 20 miles plus, and i remember clearly how this problem occurred several times on the two way highway, preventing me from overtaking. Not good. Bob. NZ.
They should be ticketed so they know for the future
I see far too many behind stupid and clueless drivers on the road
Drivers who panic 🤦🏻♂️ 1:25 car brakes then panics signals right slows down then merges left with right signal still on. Props to the cop for predicting their stupidity
1:30 that driver should be mailed a ticket for failure to move for an emergency vehicle and brake check.
Good idea!
I agree
i think it was an idiot thinking they were being pulled over
Which one ? Fedex driver or the other one ?
@@thomasfletcher4765 FedEx was fine, he couldn't move right because of the red truck. The black car acted like they haven't look in their rearview for 20 miles and then did nothing to move except slow down.
I lived in Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN for a few years. The 3M Opticom preemption also activates for rail traffic to clear the crossings.
Niiice
*Local News outlet*. “ We can’t air this… shows cops being good”
They miss out on a lot of great videos!
why is a cop being "good" newsworthy?
@@hyun1141 why is exclusively posting negative news about the police a great thing? If the Media weren't a bunch of hacks they would show both sides instead, they exclusively show the negative side for both rating's and to help wedge the divide between the community and police.
Thats because the domocraps run the media. Theyre the ones that want to defund the police. They either show fake news or negative news.
Yeah that cop did great jumped out of his car with a fire extinguisher as though he was going to try to put a fire out didn't even try didn't even jump out and run to try to put it out nonchalantly got out of his car walk to the front of it looking like he's going to try but gave no effort yeah great job good trooper even the fake news new this was b******* to report on
love watching the number of comments go up and up! Cant wait to see this channel grow to 100k! and beyond I knew this channel could do it!
Fingers crossed!
Thank you for all you do. Be safe out there.
The pre-emption lights are used in Washington and Oregon. They work for all emergency vehicle's.
Thank you and good to know!
The failure to yield is frustrating
Dear Santa , I want a pre-emption device for Christmas.
Oh man, for sure!
Depending on jurisdiction they are illegal to posses for non-emergency people.
@@GeekBoyMN thats not true and you dont seem to understand how the system works. the pre-emption device is a camera thats senses emergency vehicles with their flashings lights on and the camera flashes a white light to let the first responders know that it sees them and that its changing the light for them. you cant install one in your car
@@steelwitness There is a device that mounts on the vehicle and flashes a specific pattern that triggers the preemption system that changes the lights. Civilians have gotten them and used them to get around cities. When caught they have been fined and/or jailed depending on local laws.
@@steelwitness Its illegal no questions
ive been a volunteer firefighter for some time and our area ran tests on the pre-emption lights but i know most of us firefighters hated them. they were training us to wait for the pre-emption to turn the light green before going which in a lot of cases made our response times longer than before. i guess its more necessary in areas with worse drivers.
Good job letting a small controllable fire turn into a big uncontrollable one. Bravo! Bravo!!!!
I guess you're a trained emergency responder.
@@leerilea1709 I guess you have a smart alec mouth on the internet.
@@thecommentary21 look who's talking
Minnesota is one of the states along with most of Illinois where preemption systems have the white lights. Wisconsin has opticom/preemption detectors pretty much in any city but the white light indicators are not universal here.
Oh, thank you! Very helpful to know!
Illinois has a lot of them for sure. Obviously they are not in every county but they are in a lot of populated areas and work for fire/ems as well as police
@@jakestalec4752 Very good to know! Thank you!
🤣🤣😂😂 “that will NOT buff out” I’m dying 😂
I live here in Central MN and very used to the Signal Priority systems. I used to install them in vehicles
Totally awesome!
The thing that makes it so the pre-emotive device (the white light on traffic lights that flashes when an emergency vehicle comes through running code) is activated by a device called an “Opticon” or automatically turns on when you turn on the emergency lights. It can also be turned off manually in case an officer stops someone near an intersection so it isn’t flashing the whole time he is nearby. Fun fact
*opticom*
Yeah, and I think a lot of agencies now have them automatically turn off once in park… :)
Never seen those pre-emption lights before would be cool if every had them seem very cool
Definitely!
This is right by where I live and I literally assumed that everyone had them in this day on age lol
@@Joel-vx7hz I’ve lived in 5 states and never have seen them lol
i studied in the Netherlands , the Opticom system is used everywhere by emergency.
But also it is used for the buslines so the bus can have priority .
usually emergency vehicles use the buslines.
That’s a great idea to let buses use them! Would definitely help encourage ridership.
Should add that solid white means the emergency vehicle is coming behind you and flashing white means is is not from your direction of travel.
THIS is the most important thing to know about those lights!!!!!!
Cary, NC is one of the few NC towns/cities that uses pre-emption light systems.
If you see a police officer with there lights are blinking. You need to pull over right away. Because the front line workers are going to a emergency.
But first, you have to actually be AWARE of your surroundings, and check your mirror occasionally LOL So there goes *that* idea ... :-)
Glad the trooper gave the driver a ride home.
😊
I never knew about the light thing thanks 4 sharing that in the video
I love cops and their cute little fire extinguishers.
😝
Hehe. He realized there was not a life safety concern. Once you have fire running under the vehicle, extinguishment may require more than that dry chem can hold.
Excellent response, even protected the number 2 lane for the firefighter. He even gave the driver a rude off the highway.
I salute you for some fantastic professional work!
I woulda grabbed it from his dumasz and sprayed my car myself if he obviously wasnt going to. That fire was tiny then the video cuts cause he wasted too much time fumbling around digging it out of the trunk
@@JimHerbertOutdoors It was already on the gas tank, and the extinguisher wouldn't have put it out anyways.
@@JimHerbertOutdoors not a flipping chance a little 5lb fire extinguisher was going to do anything to that fire. Our fire chief used to say "you're past your deductible." Insurance isn't going to fix a burned out car no matter what.
It'll buff out
Definitely 😉
I am retired from the Olympia, WA PD. Back in the old days - in the 60's and 70's - we had traffic signals that were controlled from the radio dispatch center. If you were on an emergency run you radioed to dispatch to give you "the lights" and the direction of your travel. "Give me the downtown lights," or the east, or west, or south lights and the dispatch folks would flip a switch in the center and turn all traffic signals in the appropriate direction green. So, they existed back then, but they weren't automatic as they are today. All emergency departments could use the system.
a Dodge that caught fire? *shocking*
I was wondering what kind of car it was, if it's a Chrysler product I am not shocked either!
Minnesota, where driving on the left lane when nobody is on the right is called "Minnesota Nice" whereas the rest of the country, it's illegal.
It is illegal in Minnesota as well under certain circumstances. Has been for about 2 years. dps.mn.gov/blog/Pages/20190725-left-lane-law.aspx
@@1MiketheMechanic I was up there for a few months on a contract. You would think it was illegal to drive in the right lane based upon my experiences. I overtook on the right more in the 2 months I was there, then the prior 20 years as a driver.
@@jaredmehrlich6683 💯💯💯💯
A lot of idiots here in Minnesota. Idiots will drive in the left lane all day long. Stalling traffic, thinking they are entitled. I don't get it. Get the fxxK out of the left lane!!!!!
To the tropper, STOP LETTING TRAFFIC DRIVE RIGHT BY IT!!!. 12 feet (width of a lane) is FAR TO CLOSE, shut it ALL down until the fire is out.
1:09 @New England Dashcam NO TRUCKS IN THE LEFT LANE!!!!! NO NO NO YOU CANNOT BE THERE!!!!!
Amazing video!!
#MuchRespect to all personnel that responded!
Was the cause of this fire discovered, in or under the car?
Thanks! Unfortunately no details on the fire. Sorry!
I bet those preemption devices save a lot of lives, injury and property damage!
Hey Alvan! Good insight and thanks for your comment!
Pre-emption is very much in use in eastern PA in the counties surrounding Philadelphia and has been for at least 25+ years. I've been installing them on police, fire and EMS vehicles since the mid-90's. In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to be in possession of and use an emitter if you are not authorized under the state vehicle code.
On traffic lights near grade crossings, all the white lights will flash when the crossing signals are active, as those can also force traffic lights into a special phase (in the case of crossings, this to clear the crossing itself and then block access to it while the train is passing).
All white lights while flash because trains have higher priority for pre-emption than even emergency vehicles. The flashing light indicates that pre-emption is not possible, while solid white indicates a successful one. Pro tip: If you're at a light and the solid white comes on, look behind you
Thank you MN Safety for explaining how Opticom works. It really is a great tool for us emergency responders to use. One thing i might add is, we can also hold green lights in our favor, instead of waiting for the next cycle to turn green.
Oh good point! Yes, I’m sure they’ve saved countless crashes and enhanced response times. Very cool technology!
Great point!
What happens if all coming from different directions 😂😂😂
@@almilhouse9059 it's all about who can get to the detector first. Even with that said, you still have to proceed with caution. You can't go flying through an intersection with lights and sirens on.
It's also a great tool for screwing up an intersection when someone forgets to turn off the opticom emitter and their vehicle happens to be parked facing the intersection.. I've seen that happen twice over the last 10 years, in both cases the intersection had no confirmation light so maybe that's another reason to have one.
Wow outstanding video quality on this camera.
In my county the OPTICOM law enforcement (both county and cities) fire, ems and even transit uses them. I believe transit only uses them at intersections near transit centers and transfer stations.
I've only had this happen once. Saw a car blow a tire and pull over so I followed them to the shoulder, as I'm already a roadside assistance tech. Talked the shaky driver down from their brief panic attack and went about getting the spare tire out and smelled smoke. Dropped down and looked under the car and, sure enough, the exhaust had caught a bit of taller grass on fire. I swatted it out and told the driver to move forward back onto the paved shoulder, which he did while I stomped out the rest of the fire.
If someone had not been there to notice the fire the driver might've been in for a real costly surprise, just like this unfortunate fellow.
I wonder if that non-professional FedEx driver had moved over to the right (or not been in the left lane where his vehicle didn’t belong anyways) if the trooper would’ve had enough time to get there to put out the small fire underneath the gas tank prior to its ignition. That FedEx driver was the only vehicle that we saw that couldn’t be bothered getting out of the way of the trooper. FEDEx, screwing the roads over since day one.
Please help stop these contractors I was a carpenter never given protection or even warned of the dangers when dry drilling into concrete and dry cutting fiber cement board siding now I have scarring in my lungs and worry everyday I will die from silicosis with no hope no cure no treatments everyday across the subdivisions in there are people still dry cutting and dry drilling into concrete it has turned my entire life upside down and wish 1 person would have told me so I could have left immediately I reported this to osha and nothing was done the contractor still do it to this day. Please help stop this its killing a lot of us I don't understand why the contractors are not criminally charged for this
Thumbs down to the stupid driver with his right-hand blinker on and then moves left. Those opticon-style traffic light changers are awesome! Our small town debated on installing a few on the main downtown streets since the fire station is located there, but the mayor decided he needed a raise instead. Kudos to Minnesota for embracing the technology!
Agree completely with all of this!
awesome for giving him a ride home
"Man that car is really burning up the road"🤣
Opticoms are great. Not sure if you mentioned it or not however if the light it steady it means the emergency vehicle is coming from behind you. If the light is flashing it means they are coming from a different lane.
Thank you! You're right, I definitely should have mentioned it!
if the light is flashing it means that the opticom has detected conflicting calls for pre-emption, and the side with the flashing light came last, so it tells the emergency vehicle driver that they won't be getting a green.
Jesus people just refuse to slow down on the scene. Unreal how they can't be inconvenienced for 20 seconds to avoid hitting a responder or crashing cause they can't see thru the smoke. I love the light changer. Increases response time drastically
How did you do it? Did it go far
@@hayden8693 around here, it picks a signal up around a half mile and only that lane is green which stops everyone else
@@thomasbaker3262 where does the bell ring? Did it go there?
Wow 😳 how some people are NOT paying attention to their surroundings.... That FedEx driver... A professional. Shame on him. Terrible
1:10 Fed Ex semi blocking the left lane.
Yes! I definitely wanted to include this for discussion. I don’t think they could move right because of the sedan blocking the middle lane. But what do you think?
@@MidwestSafety Fed Ex Truck IMO did the right thing..Stayed in his lane and looked like he slowed down a little, lane was blocked by another vehicle...Wasnt able to move over fast enough with the speed of the patrol vehicle...
@@mattyroc77 Yeah, I thought driver did best he could under circumstances. The sedan was the issue and made things confusing!
@@MidwestSafety the car in middle lane just past the FedEx at around 1:29 started blinking right but didn’t move over and then just hit brakes as cruiser was behind him! Grrr!
@@JohnHallgren So frustrating!!!
The most obvious subject, the reason for the car catching on fire is seldom mentioned: faulty non existent maintenance. The US fails to set up yearly or two year car safety inspection cycles. Fuel leaks, corroded/damaged fuel tank supports and lines, etc. are the causes of most car fires. So there is an abundance of car fires per day in the US. Glad no one was hurt.
Currently there are 14 states that require annual vehicle inspections and 5 that require biennial inspections. Most other states only require inspections the first time a vehicle is registered.
Why didn't they shutdown traffic until the fire was put out? You got cars driving right through the thick smoke
Never was the smoke thick enough to not see through. Judging by how long the trooper drove to get to the fire, they may have been the only one in the area.
I believe Opticoms were developed by 3M in the beginning, I was told? They were a good device but even with our giant red trucks making huge amount of noise and lit up like christmas trees, we still had and were trained to exercise intersection caution because well...you know.
:) Thanks for posting this!
I lived in New Hampshire, and they have the preemptive lights as well.
When I lived in Southern California for a long couple of years, some type of device like that was very common on stoplights. I don't remember any type of spotlight, so I don't think it was exactly the same. They were triggered by the flashing lights of an emergency vehicle, and while it was illegal, it was extremely common to see random cars flash their high beams a couple times to trigger it.
Wow, fascinating!
I knew someone who was convinced that flashing their headlights at a traffic signal would get the light to change late at night. What he was unaware of is that late at night many traffic signals operate "on demand" and will give a green fairly quickly if they don't sense any opposing traffic.
@@brianleeper5737 hahaha, niiiice
@@brianleeper5737 Did they park on top of the current loop sensor, which is the Best Way, usually?
What were you saying about pre-emptive lights? I was sucked into watching that FedEx driver and black sedan who couldn’t move over even though their blinker was on…
Holy crap that is a fire!!! Damn!!
The Fed Ex driver with dual trailers had little choice, the SUV was tooling along in the adjacent lane.
My dad was on the team that worked on that project at 3M.. Back in the late 70s.. Early 80s. I believe St. Paul and Maplewood police departments were first to use the system.. It was along time ago...
That is seriously so cool!!! Wow - totally awesome and I'm glad you let us know!
Great job by the Trooper , and the Fire Dept. And the Democrats want to defund the police.
:)
We use Pre Emption Devices Here in Pennsylvania Where I'm from. They're everywhere
Хороший показательный ролик, 1001 проехал мимо даже не попытавшись помочь, а один полицейский 4 минуты несется как угорелый.
those are some beautiful rosenbauers
The pre emption lights should turn ALL lights red. That stops everybody.
First off, the gas tank wasn’t involved or else it would have taken longer to extinguish due to gasoline being on ground, plus it would have taken foam to put it out. Second, there should be an automatic jail term of 3 days to anyone who doesn’t get out of the way for responding emergency vehicles..
Here in Northern Virginia, they first started installing pre-emption about 15 years ago.. But they were too cheap to spend the additional money for the white confirmation light. I mean, gosh, that might have added another $500 per intersection.
Yeah, it’s like, how much is good response times and public safety worth, right? 😊
Definitely appreciate the update!
@@MidwestSafetyVirginia's cheapness never ceases to amaze me. It's ingrained in the culture around here to do everything as cheaply and half-ass as possible.
@@brianleeper5737 I agree. Not only is Virginia cheap, but they're also one of, if not the most strict state in the USA. So many dumb rules we have to abide by.
@@BrandonP8176 Virginia politicians sure do have an authoritarian streak.
Has nothing to do with being cheap, the light serves as a confirmation light primarily was meant to tell responders that the light "sees you", later versions can digitally respond give you a confirmation on the controller that the light hears you. The cost of the extra lights is actually quite abit significantly more than 500$, I think the difference in quote on the system is in the neighborhood of about 1k per traffic light
Our towns in NW Connecticut had preemptive lights for many years.
Love it! Awesome!
In MN. retrieve the plates and Police Report, take to MDS (MN. Driver Services) and get a partial refund to help[ pay for that deductible.
😊
I wonder what caused the fire. Thank god the driver got out and was safe.
I'm curious too! Glad they're safe!
In the old days the opti-com used huge oil filled strobes to change the lights. Now they use infrared “strobes” that are about the size of a cigarette pack to do it. 3M is the biggest company to make the light control system. If you notice the light by the traffic light is on steady one way and the other 3 blink. The officer with the steady light has control of the intersection in case other vehicles are approaching the intersection. Trains are converting to this system also to control lights and crossings.
I thought the trooper would have shut the road off.
No need too, fire truck was on a ramp and vehicle was on shoulder and traffic was moving over. Why cause a 3 mile back up that may only cause more accidents?
If you have an under the hood fire it might be only the size of your fist but less than a second after you open the hood that fire is the size of a clothes washer. Air flow is one thing that feeds it. That happened to my Mustang in my feature picture in March of 1989. You could quickly burn your hands or more.
seem like every state does it differently for the pre emt lights. I know CA does this as well but in a slightly different way they do have sensors on a lot of the lights here but they do not have a little white light with them. it just changes automatically on them from a strobe light that has an embedded infrared light on it to change the light to green but not all lights have them in CA
Respect to the trooper but damn MY EARS ARE BLEEDING THE WHOLE TIME
1:30 I swear there is nothing worse than a driver who "freezes" and fails to take action when there is, for example, an emergency vehicle with the lights and siren on behind them. How does one not just immediately take action to get the heck out of the way? That was infuriating to watch.
They probably have a warrant out for their arrest or are in a stolen car and think the cops are coming for them. lol. They don't know if they should pull over or run. Other than that, they are clueless morons behind the wheel.
Huh it's huge fire ..Good think is driver is safe..
Agree completely!
Good example of when not to try using a fire extinguisher. Had the driver had a 5 or 10 pound ABC, and hit the fire while very small may have saved the car. [But never worth risking lungs, skin, eyes and life for a car!]
Great points!
They’re lucky that fire didn’t spread!
Definitely! Could have easily become a grass fire!
It's plain as daylight...
If I ever have an
EMERGENCY I pray to God this guy comes for me!!! However I’m in Texas
3M created the system and I believe gave free or highly reduced cost in Minnesota as to why you see it in so many cities here
Wish North Carolina has pre-emption lights
Is this all "real time" response? If so Bravo 3:40 from call to on scene! and out in 7 minutes!? That is damn fine work!!......Curious here in Tx radio code for arrived on scene is 10-23 is it the same there?
And the great little device can tie up and intersection for an hour if the timing is right. When squads come through a couple of minutes apart. And the light doesn't go back to where it was when interrupted. Might as well put it in park and turn the engine off. You're going to be awhile.
This made me laugh! Definitely experienced this same thing during rush hour a couple of times!
I always thought that it was common sense to program the traffic signal to give a green to the busiest legs of the intersection when the pre-emption ends. This is called the "exit phase". But I've seen many of them that give a green to the lightly-used side street instead, which makes me think that the people who program these things just leave it at the default setting.
The only thing left to save is the blacktop shoulder. Should close doors and windows if possible to cut down oxygen inside vehicle
The wind though
Drivers are told to merge right when emergency vehicles are approaching, therefore it's unsafe for emergency vehicles to pass people on the right when lights and sirens are activated.
You're intelligent. No one was moving over dilbert, he had no choice. If people actually obeyed the law he could have.
@@leerilea1709 Sad that you have to throw out insults, to a person stating facts. That's usually a sign of lack of intelligence. I've seen other agencies over come that issue by giving drivers a few extras seconds as they charge siren tone and use air horn, or turning off lights and sirens for a second as they pass on the right, then turn them back on. Don't bother responding i don't care your opinion. Passing on the right with lights and sirens is unsafe . That's a fact.
@@seth9871 whatever. You are very misinformed. People simply do not obey the law, to ignore that fact is ignorant, and you are hurling insults more than I.
I would have logged the plate of the truck and Hyundai and sent them tickets in the mail
N his way, now the Hyundai for no reason at all panicked and didn't move.
The road train I can't really blame him, he had the pickup and the Hyundai
Everytime I see a strobe light activate at a traffic signal my head is on a swivel looking where the emergency vehicle is coming from
If it's solid, they're behind you. Flashing is from a different direction.
@@bloc0102 sweet thanks for the info
Great idea!
@@bloc0102 Flashing is to indicate to an approaching emergency vehicle driver that the opticom has detected their approach, but will not be giving them a green right away because another emergency vehicle coming from a different direction has already gotten the green.
@@brianleeper5737 while true, I have noticed all three other directions flashing when I could see them, with only one emergency vehicle approaching (I'm guessing this varies by location).
Good ole fed ex in the hammer lane. 🥴🥴
Those lights are dangerous for someone who had a green light
2 things,
UK government not only encourages but effectively orders the UK public to exit their cars when they are broken down on the side of a road. This guarantees their safety. Because a percentage of disabled cars at the side of the road get destroyed when other vehicles plow right in to them at speed killing all the occupants. The UK public have been successfully trained that pretty much everyone does it now.
UK police would have closed that road. but yours allowed traffic to continue rolling by and allowed the driver to walk within 10 feet of the car.
I think the priority is to get the fire extinguished
It’s a lot easier to manage and do that when your nation is a tiny island all of our states have different rules and regulations we also don’t have public transportation as easily accessible as you guys do so we rely on our roads a lot cant just shut them down you’ll impact a lot of people
Just a question: Wouldn’t it have been wise to stop traffic while the fire is raging and for the fire company, that’s spraying through it into the lanes of travel? Seems like it would reduce any possibility of any damage to passing cars, especially if it blew.
The pre-emption lights are very cool. Why isn’t something like that mandated throughout the country? Because it’s too much like right? Or, at the least, in areas where we see all of the car chase videos. On second thought, would that always give the running vehicle a green light? If the cop is close enough, I guess. Hmmm….
Closing a highway completely increases the risk of another accident as opposed to closing 1 lane for fire
Cars don't "blow". Thats hollywood stuff. What you saw on this video is as bad as it gets. It was a huge fireball, but thats it.
since most newer car gas tank are plastic no Hollywood big bang
I can't believe the way people didn't pull over ! I bet they don't honor funerals either !
Saw the burned grass from this on Friday!
It was probably you who started the damn fire.
@@hayden8693 yup, you got me. I started their car on fire while they were driving it 🤦♂️
Michigan metro areas have lots of pre-emption
milwaukee wisconsin uses the opticom system for fire and city ems
In the case of a fully involved vehicle. I would have assumed the highway should have been shut down? You never know if any debris could have blown off the car when the tank or tires ignited.
Not when fire department is there unless they don’t get it under control
That car is gone nothing you can do now but watch
Don’t wear headphones for this lol. Right ear is dead
How are they allowing cars to pass through the left lane 😂
You hold traffic when the fire dept. puts the fire out. Totally unprofessional and dangerous in so many way to let traffic drive by like that.
For those of you who live in Minnesota, what happens if I hit one of those pre-emption lights with a powerful strobe flashlight. Will the light turn green?
They need NOZZELS on the front, like airports, DUH