HMC to test software that alerts motorists of ambulance nearby

One of the great things about Qatar is the motorists’ willingness to make way for ambulances, irrespective of how bad the traffic situation is. But even then, precious time is lost when drivers fail to recognise arrival of ambulances behind them.

The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Ambulance Service is currently testing a technology that will allow its ambulance crews to alert surrounding motorists of their approach.

The new system, Radiolert Mobile FM80, is an internationally-used software that enables ambulance crews to send a message to cars up to 200M ahead.

When activated by the ambulance driver, the system overrides FM radio channels inside cars and relays the message ‘Warning, ambulance approaching. Give way.’

Clear verbal instructions will be given in Arabic, English, Hindi and Malayalam to drivers.

“Our ambulance lights and sirens can be seen or heard by drivers up to 50M away, but the Radiolert system allows us to forewarn drivers much further ahead,” HMC’s Healthcare Coordination Services Executive Director Thomas Reimann was quoted as saying by The Peninsula.

Depending on the registered language of the FM radio channel being broadcast, the system will play the warning message in one of the four languages,” he added.

HMC’s Ambulance Service consistently meets or exceeds its National Health Strategy response targets. Throughout 2015, the service reached 91.8% of calls within Doha in under 10 minutes.